Golden Child
by Yuna-flowering
Summary: A prequel and eventual sequel to A Mentor, a Brother, and a Lover, starting from 24 years before FFX. Centers around the lives of Siri Kenobi, aka Shinra's mom, and her family. Chapter 7: Xu's brush with death, and a conversation on the Farplane.
1. Birth of an Angel

This whole idea comes from my Paine/Gippal fic A Mentor, a Brother, and a Lover. I'd reccommend reading it if you want to figure out who Siri Kenobi is (she's the best friend of Gippal's cousin, as well as Shinra's mother), but if you want to be surprised as to what happens and who dies when, etc. then don't read it. In case you don't get it, Siri and her brothers are all half-human, half-Guado, like Seymour (their mom is Guado and their dad is human. Murtagh, who is mentioned below, is also human). The story centers around them, but canon characters (such as Auron, Gippal, Nhadala, and Kinoc, among others) will come into play later. It's basically just looking at the world of Spira through the eyes of somebody who wasn't in the game. The dating system comes from the fact that Sin appeared 1000 years before FFX, so AS stands for After Sin. Thus, 976 AS is 24 years before FFX. There are the usual 4 seasons, and 90 days in each season (so it's a 360 day year), and the New Year begins on the 1st Day of Spring. Reviews (even if critical) are solicited and much appreciated!

* * *

**46th Day of Summer, 976 AS  
Guadosalam**

30 year old Leia Kenobi stretched her arms above her head and smiled. It wasn't often that she got to sleep in until 8 in the morning—one of her six sons (ranging in age from 11 years, 9 months to a mere 18 months) was almost always up by half past six. And with her husband gone at the city's Warrior Monk Garrison further down the river, she was usually all alone in taking care of her children. In recent days, however, her best friend Ellimere (a widow, and mother of two young girls) had been helping her out, and her older brother had been dropping by every day as well. The reason? She was nine months pregnant. Leia was quite sure she was having another boy, but some small part of her held out hope that, maybe this time, she would give birth to a daughter. She adored her sons, but she yearned for a little girl that she could dress up, pass on her possessions to, and share "Girl talk" with.

Just then, her peace was abruptly broken by the door opening and two identical green-haired heads peeking in. They belonged to her twin sons, Squall and Seifer. Although almost polar opposites in terms of personality, the twins shared most likes and dislikes, and were almost never seen apart from one another. Even at the tender age of three, they'd worked out a strategy to watch each other's back when getting into mischief (which they often did), and had the sort of unspoken understanding that was special to twin siblings.

"Breakfast is ready, mommy," said Squall quietly. "Auntie Elle came over to cook."

"And _I_ helped her," Seifer added proudly.

Leia smiled. "Alright. Go tell her I'll be there in a minute." They ran out of the room and Leia moved to get out of bed, but was suddenly seized by a strong contraction. She looked down at her swollen stomach and her eyes lit up. It was time.

Leia walked into her kitchen to find 8 children sitting at the table, and Ellimere busy doling out pancakes to each of them. She looked up and grinned.

"Morning, sleepyhead."

"Morning. Guess what?"

"What?" Then she caught Leia's significant look. "Oh! Is it…?"

Leia grinned. "It is. Go to my brother's house and tell him, so he can run out to the Barracks and get Garen." Most of this was over the heads of their children, but Anakin caught on immediately.

"Is the baby coming?" he asked excitedly. This, of course, set off the other five boys and two girls, and it was a few minutes before Leia and Ellimere could make themselves heard above the barrage of questions and exclamations.

"Kids! Shush for a minute!" said Ellimere. "Now. Boys, I'm going to talk to your Uncle Nida and he's going to go get your dad. Raine, Ryelle, you two stay here and listen to your Auntie Leia, okay?"

The boys nodded, and 8 year old Ryelle and 5 year old Raine chimed "yes, mom." Ellimere smiled at them and hurried out the door.

She was back less than a quarter of an hour later, and with her was a Guado woman named Sera, a Healer and long-time friend of Leia's who had lived in Guadosalam almost all her life, and had helped to deliver Raine, Ryelle, and all of Leia's sons.

"Nida ran off almost before I'd finished talking," said Ellimere. "Assuming this baby isn't born before they get back, we'll have plenty of time. You alright?"

Leia assured them she was, laughing softly to herself at the memories that were flooding her head. Garen hadn't been present for the births of his three oldest children, having been stationed too far away (the fact that Anakin and Laguna had been born during a time of Sin hadn't helped matters). By the time the twins came around, however, Garen had been a Captain and had managed to secure a posting at Guadosalam's Garrison, and because they were in a Calm he'd gotten home in plenty of time and had been given a generous amount of leave.

Two hours later, the door to Leia's bedroom banged open, and her brother and husband came into the room (the children—including Sera's two sons—were with Ellimere and Sera's husband Murtagh out in the living room). Nida looked like her—short and slender (he stood an inch, if that, above her own 5'6"), dark blue hair that stood up in sharp spikes (her own was turquoise), and blue eyes. Garen was quite the opposite—6'5", stocky and broad-shouldered, with short, straight, light brown hair and gold eyes. They were the two men she loved most in the world, but she could muster up no more than a pained grimace as a means of acknowledgement. This baby was stubborn, and not coming nearly as fast as some of its brothers (most notably Liam, whose birth Garen had almost missed due to a quickly progressing labor).

"Hey guys," she gasped, as she fell back onto the pillow after a contraction. Nida stayed long enough to kiss her on the cheek and get an assurance of her health from Sera before he left the room, to help Ellimere and Murtagh look after the children. Garen pulled a chair up to her bedside and sat, taking one of her hands in his and gently stroking the back of it with his thumb.

"Sorry I'm not exactly the neatest person in the world," he said, looking in the mirror on the opposite wall and wrinkling his nose at his reflection. "Nida caught me in the middle of a training session. Sub-Commander Zak let me go immediately, but I've only got a week's leave, since…" he trailed off, but Leia knew why. High Summoner Yuri's Calm had ended while she was pregnant with Liam, and as such the Warrior Monks needed all the men they could get.

"It's alright," she said, smiling at him. "I don't care, as long as you're here now."

It took another 3 and a half hours for Leia to get to the point where she could start pushing, and when the time came she sat up partway with her arms around her knees, and Sera put a blanket over her legs. She then spent the next 30 minutes straining to deliver her baby, Garen helping by sponging her face with cool water, tying her hair back for her so that it didn't stick to her face with sweat, and not voicing a word of complaint when she clenched her hands around his tight enough to leave nail marks.

"I've got the head, Leia. Just one more push, come on." The understanding smile and look of compassion from one of her oldest and dearest friends gave Leia the strength she needed, and two minutes later, at exactly two-thirty in the afternoon, her 7th child was born.

"Congratulations," said Sera, as the infant (which Leia couldn't see, as it was still under the tent formed by her legs and the blanket) began to wail. "You have a baby girl."

Leia turned to look at Garen, who was open-mouthed. "A _girl?_" they both said, in tones of mingled surprise and joy.

Sera beamed. "Yep, a beautiful little girl. Gold eyes, just like her daddy." She cut the cord and finished her initial cleaning of the baby, before wrapping her in a blanket and offering her to Garen. Garen accepted his daughter with trembling arms, and Leia felt tears of joy fill her eyes as she watched her husband whisper endearments to their little girl. The baby protested being handed over as Garen gave her to Leia, but was quickly satisfied when Leia put her to her breast. Sera looked bright-eyed as well, and after she finished attending to Leia she beamed at them both and went to tell Nida, Ellimere, Murtagh, and the children the good news.

* * *

Ellimere, Nida, and Murtagh exchanged looks, as another stifled shout came from the bedroom. Around them sat the 10 children, all with varying looks of worry on their faces. Anakin had Rowan and Raine on his lap, Laguna had an arm each around Squall and Seifer, Liam had a death grip on Ryelle's legs, and Murtagh's two boys (almost-6-year-old Jess and 22 month old Jaicen—both had his gray eyes and Jaicen also had his brown hair, whereas Jess' was dark blue like his mother's) were clinging to his arms, Jaicen sucking on his thumb at the same time. Liam let go of Ryelle at that moment, and carefully crossed the room to his Uncle and Murtagh. 

"Mommy okay?" he asked. He, Squall, Seifer, and Jaicen were more frightened than the others, as he had been the youngest child thus far and Squall, Seifer, and Jaicen were too young to remember his birth (to that net end, Liam and Jaicen were only 4 months apart).

"Hey, Kiddo. C'mere." Nida swung Liam up so that he was snug against his right side and his legs were around Nida's waist. "There's absolutely nothing to worry about, okay? Your mommy will be-" the cry of a newborn infant suddenly pierced the air. "Just fine," Nida finished, beaming.

"Was that the baby?" "The baby's here!" "Yay!" Pandemonium reigned for the next fifteen minutes, as the children cheered, danced around in circles, and ran around the room. It wasn't until Sera appeared that they quieted, and then they became almost as loud again as they crowded around her with questions.

"Shh," she said, putting a finger up to her lips. "You kids have to quiet down or you'll scare your baby sister." Murtagh and Nida both did a double take and looked at each other—with Leia's record, they'd been expecting another boy. Ellimere picked up Liam so that the (no longer) smallest child wouldn't get squashed or not be able to see, and between the three of them they got the children to file quietly into the bedroom.

* * *

Nida beamed, feeling as happy for his sister and brother-in-law as it was possible to be as he watched his nephews, his closest friends, and their children crowd around the bed, where Leia had a tired but proud smile on her face as she cradled her newborn baby daughter. He caught Garen's eye and they nodded to each other, a mutual recognition of their respect for one another (they never had managed to become more than casual friends, due mostly to a simple clash of personalities) and their mutual adoration and protective feelings towards Leia, her sons, and most especially the sleeping infant in her lap, whose delicately pointed ears, lightly veined face, and wisps of turquoise hair made her seem so small and fragile. 

_You're an angel_, Nida thought with a smile, as he carefully took his niece from Murtagh and cradled her in his arms. _Maybe I'll have a little girl like you someday. If Kaylie was still…_ Nida stopped himself. _Don't even think about it or you'll get depressed_, he told himself sternly. _This is a happy day. Don't start_. The baby stirred briefly and opened her eyes, revealing a pair of bright gold irises. She looked at Nida and must have decided that she approved of him, for she promptly made a small gurgling noise and went back to sleep.

"What's her name?" he asked, handing the baby back to Leia. She and Garen exchanged one of those looks, in which married couples seem to be able to carry out entire conversations without speaking, before she looked back at him.

"We didn't even bother thinking of girl's names this time," she admitted with a grin. "But back when I was pregnant with Liam and Squall and Seifer we decided that if it was a girl we'd name it Shaylie, after Garen's mom. But since Nicolai already took that name, I think we'll go with our mom, instead." she looked at Nida. "Her name is Siri."

"And," she continued, still looking at him. "We want you to be her Godfather." Nida's jaw dropped.

"_Me?_" he asked, with a mixture of happiness and surprise. "You mean it? But I'm not married, or anything-"

"Neither is Xu," Garen pointed out. "But she's still Liam's Godmother."

"We figured it was about time you got the honor," Leia added. "I know how much you love these kids." She gave him a look of perfect understanding and affection, and Nida could only nod as he accepted his niece—his _goddaughter_—into his arms again.

_You really are an Angel, Siri_, he thought, as he looked down at her through slightly misty eyes. _And the best thing is you're not just Leia and Garen's angel, you're my angel, too. I probably won't make the best godfather, but I can swear to the Fayth I'll try_.

Siri stirred in her sleep and closed one tiny fist on the material of Nida's shirt, looking as content as it was possible for a newborn infant to be. She would grow up loved, that much was certain. Between her parents, brothers, "cousins", and Aunts and Uncles (both of blood and of the heart), Siri would never lack for love, protection, or a pair of willing arms.


	2. 1st Birthday

**45th Day of Summer, 977 AS  
Guadosalam**

"_Siri…_" Leia groaned, even as a smile crept on to her face. "You're not hungry _again_, are you? I just fed you two and a half hours ago." But even as she spoke she was putting down her almost year-old daughter and unbuttoning her blouse.

"And the only reason you're getting any of this," Leia informed her daughter, as Siri started nursing contentedly. "Is because one, I'm too lazy to get up and prepare the baby food, and two, I'm putting off having to wean you, because I know my chest is going to hurt for about two weeks when I do." Siri blinked at her in reply.

Leia had been nursing Siri for about five minutes when her doorbell rang. She sighed and shifted until she could get up from her rocking chair, and made sure to grab a thin blanket and put it over her right shoulder so that it covered Siri and her breast before she went to answer the door. The first and last time she had answered the door while nursing and hadn't bothered to cover her chest had been when Anakin was a baby—one of Garen's brothers (who had been 15 years old at the time) had been on the other side, and on that infamous occasion had gone beet red and stuttered for a few seconds before running off.

Leia opened her door to find Ellimere and Sera, the former looking stressed out and the latter confused and a little annoyed. "What's up?" Leia asked, growing slightly concerned as she looked at Ellimere, who on closer inspection looked rather upset.

"I don't know," said Sera, sounding slightly irritated. "This one here-" she jerked her head towards Ellimere. "Came running into my house ten minutes ago and dragged me all the way here, saying that the three of us needed to talk."

"Can we come in? Please?" asked Ellimere, sounding close to hysterics. 'I need to talk to somebody…" she trailed off. Leia still had no idea what was wrong, but she could tell that Ellimere was seriously upset.

"Of course, come on," she said, opening her door wider. "The boys were at your house…" she looked questioningly at Sera.

"Raine and Ryelle are there too," said Sera. "Nida came over to help, so that Murtagh doesn't have to look after all the kids by himself."

"Okay, cool. In that case we've got the house to ourselves, except for Siri here." The three of them retreated to the living room, and after Leia and Sera had gotten Ellimere to sit down on the couch and had sat down facing her (Sera perched on the coffee table and Leia back in her rocking chair), they asked her what was wrong.

"Come on, Elle," said Leia. "What in the name of the Fayth is wrong with you? I haven't seen you this upset since… well… I don't know, but you're never upset for no good reason. What happened?"

Ellimere was silent for several moments. Then she lifted her head up and finally managed to say, in a voice that betrayed several different conflicting emotions, "I… I kissed Numair."

_Oh no. No wonder she's like this. It's not like I haven't seen this coming for a while, but still_… Numair was the younger brother of Ellimere's deceased husband and Raine and Ryelle's father, Ferus, a Crusader who had died in a Sin Attack just over 3 years ago. And for the last several months both Ellimere and Numair had been fighting a growing mutual attraction, both of them feeling that it would be disgracing Ferus' memory for them to get together (Numair was particularly concerned about what his brother would think, and Leia knew it because he'd spent several afternoons in her kitchen, saying things like "What am I thinking? … She's my brother's widow… Ferus would kill me…").

"Oh," said Sera quietly, her eyes wide. "Oh Ellimere, I'm sorry I snapped at you." She looked at Leia. "Should I make some hot chocolate?"

Leia nodded. "The cocoa's in the top cupboard." Sera went to the kitchen and Leia turned to Ellimere.

"What… happened, exactly?" she asked tentatively. "Did he kiss you, or did you…?"

Ellimere shrugged, looking miserable. "He… I mean, you know… he initiated it, but I didn't exactly stop him… not at first, anyway…" She put her head in her hands and let out a loud groan. "What am I supposed to _do?_" she asked. "I shouldn't be _wanting_ him to kiss me… I shouldn't be wanting _anyone_ to kiss me… I'm a horrible person, aren't I?" She looked up at Leia.

"No, you're not, and you know it," Sera called over from the kitchen. "You're not a Priestess or a Warrior Monk or anything. You've got no reason to feel guilty." She crossed the room with 3 mugs of hot chocolate in hand. "I'm sure Leia's had this exact same talk with Nida sometime during the past nine years, haven't you?"

"Not really, actually," said Leia. "Nida hasn't run into this problem that I know of. But I think he's about to, if you ask me. Just don't tell Garen I said that."

Ellimere looked up, her problems temporarily forgotten. "Why not tell Garen?" she asked. Then she gasped. "He hasn't fallen in love with Lana, has he?" Lana was the youngest of Garen's three sisters (he was the oldest of 7 children, of whom the first 4 were boys and the youngest 3 girls), and was an Apprentice Summoner.

"What? No! Nida's not that stupid. I said don't tell Garen because I was talking about Xu. You should have seen the way she and Nida were looking at each other when they were over here for the Summer Festival."

"Really?" Sera asked interestedly. "Nida and Xu?" She suddenly laughed. "Oh, Garen's gonna kill him…"

"That's what Nida's afraid of," said Leia. "But what he doesn't realize is that I think Garen would probably be okay with it, if you ask me. He actually thinks pretty highly of Nida, but he'd deny it if anybody but me asked him." Sera laughed, and even Ellimere managed a weak chuckle. Siri finished nursing then and Leia put her down on the floor, where she promptly pulled herself up to standing using the coffee table and started to edge along it.

"Can she walk yet?" Sera asked curiously. Leia shook her head.

"Not yet, but I think she will be soon. She's been able to move around with both hands on the furniture for a few weeks now, but she hasn't walked independently. Maybe if we're lucky she'll walk at her birthday party tomorrow." Leia smiled fondly at her daughter, and just then the doorbell rang.

Ellimere's eyes went wide with fright. "What if it's Numair?" she asked in a whisper. Leia got up and looked at the door for a moment before turning back to Ellimere.

"I'll answer it," she said. "If it's Numair I'll just tell him that you're in no shape to be speaking to him right now. I think he's smart enough to know when to leave you alone." When she got to the door, however, it turned out it wasn't Numair but Nida, looking like he'd ran all the way there.

"Leia," he gasped, one hand gripping a stitch in his side and the other on the doorframe. "Just heard… Messenger… Warrior Monks… Sin Attack… Moonflow…"

Leia blanched, feeling her heart leap into her throat. "Is Garen alright?" _Please, please tell me he's alright_.

"No idea… haven't heard… he was supposed to be home tonight, wasn't he?"

"Yeah…" said Leia, her gaze unfocused, biting her thumb nervously. "Yes," she said, more strongly. "He'll be home." _He has to be_. "And if he's… injured, then Loran will come tell us." _Unless they both are_.

Nida nodded. "Do you want me to stay with you?"

"Please," said Leia. "At least until tonight." She turned around to find that Sera and Ellimere had both been listening. "You two…?"

"I think I'm going to go to the Farplane," said Ellimere. "I need to… see Ferus for a little while." Beside her, Leia saw Nida's eyebrows rise slightly, and she knew that her brother was wondering what he'd interrupted.

"I'll go back to my house and help Murtagh with the kids," said Sera. "You going to be alright?"

Leia nodded firmly. "I'll be fine," she said. "You go on." They both hugged her and left, and Leia collapsed onto her couch, her head in her hands, breathing deeply as she tried to calm herself down. _He'll be fine_, she told herself. _He always is. He has to be_. Nida walked over and started gently massaging her shoulders, and they stayed that way for a few minutes until a small voice broke the silence.

"Mama?" Leia opened her eyes to find Siri sitting at her feet, looking up at her with an expression that could only be called concern—she clearly realized that this behavior wasn't typical of her normally cheerful mother.

"Mama's okay, Siri," said Leia, picking Siri up into her lap. "She's just a little scared, because Daddy might be hurt."

"Da-dee?" said Siri slowly, trying out the new word. The she suddenly giggled and flexed her knees, trying to jump off Leia's lap. "Daddy!"

Leia managed a watery smile. "That's right, Siri. Daddy."

* * *

Late that night (it was just past midnight by Leia's reckoning, so she supposed it was technically the wee hours of the morning), long after her children were in bed, Leia found herself sitting outside her front door, looking in the direction that she knew Garen would appear from if he was coming home. She'd lost track of how many times this had happened, over their 14 years of marriage—There would be a Sin Attack in which his unit of Warrior Monks was involved, and she would worry herself sick until he came home. And so far he always had, with the exception of one time, nine years ago, when he'd been gravely injured- his younger brother Loran had shown up then with the news. 

Now it had happened again, and Leia was sending up silent prayers that the person she would see coming around the corner would be her husband and not her brother-in-law or, even worse, a Messenger from the Warrior Monks. Because if Loran showed up, that would mean that Garen was either dead or severely injured. And if somebody else came, that would mean that Garen and Loran had both been injured or killed.

Leia had lost track of how long she'd been sitting there when she heard footsteps. She sprang to her feet at once, heart beating furiously. And then, into the flood of light from the lamp on the outside of a nearby house, came Garen. He was battered, bruised, and obviously completely exhausted, but he was alive and whole. As soon as he caught sight of her his face lit up, and without even thinking of doing it Leia found herself running out to meet him. Garen dropped the duffel bag he was carrying in order to open his arms, and Leia burst into tears as she threw her arms tightly around him and felt him hug her back just as fiercely.

"I was scared…" she whispered, her voice slightly muffled into his shirt. "Nida said there was an attack at the Moonflow…"

"Shh… It's okay… I'm alright…" Garen held her until she calmed down, then pulled away slightly and looked at her. "I'm alright," he repeated. "Loran broke his arm but he'll be fine, and Nicolai's unit wasn't even involved. It's okay." He leaned forward and bent his head so that his forehead was touching hers. "I missed you."

Leia felt a small smile come onto her face, and she tilted her chin up so she could kiss him. When they broke apart Garen picked up his bag and they headed back to the door to go inside, talking all the way.

"Are the boys alright?" Garen asked. "You didn't tell them about the attack, did you?"

"I didn't have to," said Leia, shaking her head. "I don't think Squall, Seifer, or Liam realized anything wasn't normal, but Anakin, Laguna, and Rowan picked up on it immediately just from my mood. That and the fact that they know their Uncle Nida doesn't stay over all day for no good reason."

"He did?"

"Mm-hm." Leia smiled. "He's still there. He said he wasn't going to leave me by myself until you got home." Beside her Garen shook his head, and Leia could see the barest hint of a smile on his face.

"Siri said your name for the first time today," said Leia, as she reached out to open her front door.

"She did? Really?" Leia grinned at the innocent tone of excitement in Garen's voice.

"Clear as a bell, just this afternoon." She put a finger to her lips as she carefully slid inside and turned on the light, revealing her 33-year old brother sprawled out on the couch, fast asleep with a pillow under his head and the blanket she'd given him about to slide off onto the floor. He stirred then and sat up, rubbing his eyes as he looked around the room, and when he saw Leia and Garen his eyes went wide.

"Garen! You're home!" He stood up and crossed the room to where they were. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Thanks for looking after everything here."

Nida shrugged with a small smile. "Hey, it's the least I can do." He frowned at Garen for a moment. "You look exhausted. When did you wake up this morning?"

Garen passed a hand over his face, letting a small chuckle escape. "Six? Six-fifteen, maybe?"

Nida shook his head disapprovingly. "No wonder. You need to go to bed." He made shooing motions with his hands. "Both of you get some sleep, or you won't be able to get up for your daughter's birthday party tomorrow."

"You'll be back?" Leia asked.

"Definitely. I'll probably be here about Noon, because Ellimere roped me into helping her make her brownies tomorrow morning."

Leia laughed. "Alright, we'll see you then." They hugged and Nida left, leaving Leia and Garen alone. They turned off the light in the main room and went down the hallway to their bedroom, quietly passing the two rooms on either side that belonged to their children (Anakin and Laguna had one, Rowan and Liam another, the twins a third, and Siri the fourth).

"I wish you could come home," said Leia with a sigh, looking at Garen in the mirror as she ran a brush through her curly turquoise hair. Garen (whose head couldn't be seen, as he was halfway through removing his shirt) made an unintelligible remark, and when he got his shirt off he walked over and put his arms around her from behind, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"Hey, just look at it this way," he said. "It's only seven more years. As soon as I get the letter saying that I've served my twenty years and I'm eligible for retirement I'll be home for good, I promise."

"I know, I know… I just don't want to end up like Ellimere. I saw what happened to her after Ferus was killed, and I... I don't think I could be as strong as she was. When Siri said your name today, all I could think of was that if something happened to you, she'd…" Leia suddenly found herself blinking tears out of her eyes. "I mean, she's just a baby, you know? She'd never…"

"I know. I think the same thing every time there's a battle. And there's a lot of Warrior Monks in the same situation."

Leia nodded. "Like your brother."

"Exactly. Nicolai's got a wife and daughter depending on him, and Shaylie's only 3 years old. But there's a little bit of Warrior Monk wisdom that Nicolai and I tell ourselves whenever we get homesick."

Leia grinned slightly. "What's that?"

Garen kissed the top of her head. "Being with your family is good, but keeping Sin far away from them is better. It's the only argument I can use to convince myself that I'm doing the right thing."

Leia got up from her chair and turned around to face Garen, putting her hands on his shoulders and looking him in the eye. "You _are_ doing the right thing," she said firmly. "And I'm proud of you." She pointed to their bed. "Now we need to go to sleep."

Garen chuckled and brought his arm up across his chest in a Warrior Monk salute. "Yes Ma'am."

* * *

The next morning found Leia and Garen sitting at their kitchen table, Leia with Siri on her lap and Garen nursing a cup of coffee, waiting for their sons to get out of bed. It was quiet for the moment, but Leia knew (and smiled at the thought) that as soon as one of the boys caught sight of their father that it would quickly become chaotic. 

The first one to come into the room happened to be Rowan. The six year old walked three steps into the kitchen and stopped in his tracks, looking from Leia to Garen with eyes the size of dinner plates. He turned around and shouted "Dad's home!" in a gleeful voice, then ran across the room and jumped into Garen's arms, followed seconds later by his older and younger brothers. As Leia had suspected, it was chaos—but she could hardly have cared less. This was always when Garen was happiest, when he got home and the boys crowded around him, competing for attention and arm space (or lap space, in the case of the younger ones) and demanding to hear tales of his adventures. And he had attention enough for them all- Leia watched as he gently dislodged Rowan to make room for Liam, while at the same time talking to Laguna and Anakin as the twins clung to either of his legs.

"Is he taller than you?" Garen asked, looking from Anakin to Leia and back with a curious expression. Leia nodded, as Anakin exclaimed "Yes, I am! I'm almost taller than Auntie Ellimere!"

"He is," she said with a smile. "Since the last time you saw him he got that extra inch or two that he needed. If he isn't going on six feet tall by the time he's fourteen I will be extremely surprised."

"So will I. Now then," said Garen, looking around at all his sons. "I think you've all forgotten what day it is."

"No we haven't!"

"It's Siri's birthday!" Siri, upon hearing her name and seeing that her brothers were all paying attention to her, giggled and clapped her hands.

"When's everybody going to get here?" Rowan asked eagerly.

"Well, your Auntie Sera and Uncle Murtagh will be here in a couple of hours," said Leia. "Auntie Ellimere and Uncle Nida are coming about lunchtime, and your Auntie Lucia and Auntie Xu should be here with Shaylie any minute now."

"Loran should come by at some point today, too," Garen added. "He's on leave until his arm heals, so he said he'd stay with us for a few days before he went home to Domremy (A/N: a town/village on the south side of the Moonflow where Garen and his siblings are originally from)."

"What about Uncle Nicolai?" Anakin asked. "And Uncle Loric?"

"And Auntie Karin and Auntie Lana?" Laguna added.

"And Grandpa?" Liam piped up.

"Nicolai couldn't get the time off," said Leia, counting off on her fingers. "Loric's got a Game with the Kilika Beasts tomorrow, so he had to stay with the Goers in Luca, Karin's busy working at the Hospital, and Lana's busy at the Temple in Djose. Where is your dad, Garen?"

"In Luca," Garen said promptly. "I think he and Karin are both going to the Blitzball game tomorrow." Before Leia could reply the doorbell rang and she got up to answer it, putting Siri gently down on the floor, where the one year old crawled away.

The door opened to reveal a group of five people standing outside. Two were young men, both well over six feet tall—one had red-brown hair and brown eyes, and one arm bandaged from wrist to elbow, in a sling across his chest. The other had gold eyes and looked almost exactly like Garen, with the exception that his hair was a darker shade of brown. There were also two young women, both much closer to Leia's own height—one had brown hair pulled up into a ponytail and light brown eyes, and the other had curly red hair and green eyes. And between the two women stood a little girl of three, who had her father's gold eyes and her mother's red hair. They were Garen's brothers, Loran and Nicolai, his sister Xu and sister-in-law Lucia, and his niece Shaylie.

"What the…?" said Leia, even as she smiled. "I thought you weren't coming, Nicolai!"

"Surprise," said Nicolai with a grin. Leia laughed and hugged him, then stood aside to let them in. Garen had looked up at the sound of his brother's name, and smiled when he saw him.

"Nicolai! I thought you were working!" Even as he spoke Garen was getting up from his chair and crossing the room.

"It's a bit of a long story," said Nicolai. "But I've got a week off." The two brothers hugged tightly, and Leia couldn't help but smile and share knowing looks with Xu and Lucia. Garen was normally a very reserved person in terms of emotions and any kind of public display of affection, but he and Nicolai had always been particularly close.

While Nicolai and Loran were greeting their nephews, Xu bent down and picked up Siri, who had crawled over to see what all the fuss was about. "Where is-" she began to ask Leia, but abruptly stopped when Siri grabbed a hold of her hair. "Ouch, Siri, don't pull on Auntie Xu's ponytail, please…" once she had put her ponytail over her other shoulder safely out of Siri's reach, she started again. "Where is everybody?" she asked. "I didn't think we'd be the first ones here, I thought your brother or somebody might be here already…" she spoke casually, but Leia had to stop herself from laughing at the obvious ulterior motive of the question.

"Nida's coming, but not for a little while," Leia explained. "One of my friends put him to work helping her with some baking for the morning." Xu's slight frown did not go unnoticed to Leia, but before she could explain Siri started fussing and Leia was sidetracked in taking care of her.

Early that afternoon, when everybody had arrived and all the various food and desserts had been put out on the table, Leia was talking with Lucia and Nicolai when Lucia suddenly pointed over Leia's shoulder and said "Look!" Leia turned around, and what she saw made her eyes go wide. Garen was crouching down about five feet away from the coffee table, beckoning encouragingly, and Siri was _walking_ across the gap of empty space between the table and her father. Quiet descended over the room and everybody turned to watch, as Siri slowly took one step, then another… three, four… she stumbled on her 5th step, and fell straight into Garen's waiting arms.

"Good girl!" he exclaimed, standing up and swinging Siri around in a circle, to which the one year old let out a delighted shriek. As the children crowded forward to exclaim over Siri and congratulate her achievement, Leia stepped up to Garen's side, an amazed smile on her face.

"You know," she said slowly, as she looked at Siri. "If I didn't know any better I'd think she was waiting just for you to come home before she did that."

"She was," said Sera, who was standing nearby. "I was watching—she kept chanting 'daddy' until she got your attention-" she looked at Garen. "And _then_ she walked over to you. She was showing off just for you." Garen's only reaction was to say "Mm," and put a hand up over his mouth as he looked at his daughter, but Leia could tell he was happy.

Another 2 hours passed without incident, until Leia realized that her older brother was missing. A quick glance around the room confirmed that Xu had disappeared as well. _Uh-huh_, Leia thought, trying not to smirk. _Three guesses as to what they're up to_. She thought that nobody else had noticed, but quickly discovered she was mistaken when Nicolai came over to where she, Lucia, Ellimere, and Sera were sitting.

"Have you seen Xu, Lucia?" he asked. "She disappeared a little while ago, and I've got no idea where she's gone off to." Lucia looked as though she sorely wanted to burst out laughing, but was restraining herself.

"_Me?_" she asked, with a suspiciously innocent tone. "Nope, not at all. But I'm, uh, sure she's in good hands…" Ellimere surreptitiously elbowed her. "I mean, I'm sure she'll turn up soon!" Nicolai raised an eyebrow at her but didn't enquire further.

"Do you know where she is?" he asked as he turned to Sera, who shook her head firmly, eyes on the floor and shoulders shaking with silent laughter. "You?" he asked, turning to Ellimere with an increasing air of exasperation.

"Sorry, Nicolai," said Ellimere, unable to keep the amusement out of her voice. "Xu made me promise not to tell you they went."

"_They?_" said Loran, who had wandered over in time to hear the end of the conversation. He and Nicolai looked around the room, looked at each other, then both turned accusatory glances on Leia.

"It wasn't me!" she said quickly, holding her hands out in front of her. "I didn't have anything to do with it! I swear!" They looked at her suspiciously a moment longer, and when they finally turned away Leia allowed herself a grin.

"Garen will throw a fit," Loran observed, his head bent close to Nicolai's as the two brothers conferred.

"No, he won't," said Nicolai. "And if he does, Xu will throw an even bigger fit. You know how stubborn she is." Loran chuckled—evidently, this particular part of their sister's personality had been discussed before.

"Her and Lana both," Loran agreed. "But…" he shrugged. "I mean, she's almost 23 years old. It's not like we can tell her what to do anymore."

"Mm," said Nicolai, sounding as if he agreed. "And Nida's a responsible person… isn't he?" Nicolai turned around and addressed the question to Leia, but it was Sera who answered.

"Definitely," she said firmly. "Nida's been an older brother to all three of us." She gestured to Leia and Ellimere. "Especially after me and Ellimere came to live with Leia when we were teenagers, after our parents died…"

"Mm-hm," said Ellimere. "He's always been the protective older brother, very responsible, you needn't worry about that." Leia nodded in agreement.

"Nida was always a good kid," Leia said. "I think he and Xu are well suited for each other." Nicolai made a small noise in the back of his throat and raised one eyebrow.

"Well you know we're still going to have to threaten to beat him up if he hurts Xu," Nicolai said conversationally.

"Yeah," said Loran, with a nod and a slight grin. "It's in our job description. We wouldn't be doing our brotherly duty if we didn't."

Leia snorted in amusement. "Well you can go and do your 'brotherly duty' right now, because they just got back." She pointed over Nicolai's shoulder to where Nida and Xu had slipped back inside, hand in hand. Loran and Nicolai looked at each other, then separated- Loran to the front door, and Nicolai to get Garen. Garen's eyes widened as Nicolai whispered in his ear and he shot a questioning look over his brother's shoulder at Leia, but she merely smiled and gave him a little wave. Looking surprised (but not angry, for which Leia was thankful), Garen followed Nicolai to where Loran was waiting with Xu and Nida, and the five of them left, Nida and Xu looking quite small in comparison to Xu's brothers, who towered over the both of them by at least 8 or 9 inches.

* * *

"So," said Leia that night, as she stepped out of her skirt and pulled her socks off. "What do you think about Xu and Nida?" She glanced over her shoulder at her husband, who was sitting up in bed, gazing abstractedly at the ceiling. 

"Hm? Oh. It's alright, I suppose. I must say I never saw it coming, but they seem to like each other well enough." Leia laughed.

"You may not have seen it coming, but I saw it coming from a mile away. And if you ask me it's about time Nida found a girlfriend. I mean, he and Ellimere are kind of in the same boat now."

"They are? But Ellimere's not… she doesn't…" Leia grinned as she unbuttoned her blouse.

"Okay, not _exactly_ in the same boat. Xu isn't Kaylie's sister. But Ellimere and her brother-in-law have been making eyes at each other since not long after Siri was born."

"Seriously? Wow…" Leia laughed at the tone of surprise in Garen's voice, and after slipping her nightgown over her head turned around to find him no longer looking at the ceiling but watching her, with an expression that made her blush slightly as the thought ran through her mind that putting her pajamas on might have been a waste of time.

"_So…_" she said slowly, crossing the room and climbing onto the bed, kneeling down on the edge of it. "We were both too exhausted last night, but you think you've got a little more energy now?"

Garen raised one eyebrow, a grin slowly coming onto his face. "For you? Of course."

"Good." With a sudden surge of playfulness, Leia made a grab for her pillow and, before Garen could react, hit him square in the face with it. For approximately three seconds he simply stared at her as she smirked at him, then in a split second was up on his knees with his own pillow, smirking back at her.

"You're going down."


	3. Guadosalam and Bikanel

Yeah, I know it's been a while since I've updated. In my defense I was out of the country for two weeks and I've had a lot of schoolwork to do. My exams are coming up soon, so I probably won't start writing Chapter 4 until they're done. If you've read _A Mentor, A Brother, and a Lover_ you know who Tristan is, and if you haven't, he's an important character later on (he's also Gippal's cousin). I'm not sure what the focus of Chapter 4 is going to be yet, but it will definitely take place sometime during 978 AS. Reviews would be loved! I know you're out there, lurkers... Anyway, here's Chapter 3!

* * *

**51st Day of Winter, 977 AS  
Guadosalam**

When Leia woke up on the morning of Liam's 3rd birthday she was perfectly content and happy—until she tried to get out of bed.

"Ow…" she muttered, putting a hand on her lower back and lying down again. "Stupid muscle spasm…". Ever since being injured in a Sin attack at the age of sixteen, Leia had been prone to occasional back problems. It had been worse when she was younger—she would get a muscle spasm and be laid up in bed for the rest of that day—but as time had passed from the injury they had become less intense, requiring no more then for somebody to give her a back rub to relieve the tension.

Thankfully, her favorite person to fill this role had come home last night, and had just walked in to the bedroom. "Your timing is impeccable," she said, propping herself up on one elbow as a fully-dressed Garen, hair still damp from his shower, came into the room.

Garen raised an eyebrow at her. "It is?"

"Mm-hm. My back hurts." She winced as another pain shot through her lower back. "I woke up with a muscle spasm. Think you can do something about it?"

Garen's eyes softened and he gave her a sweet half-smile, an expression that Leia always felt privileged and happy to see on his too-often serious face. "Sure thing," he said. "Turn over and I'll see what I can do."

Leia gladly complied, and let out a sigh of relief when Garen knelt on the bed next to her and started gently kneading her back. "I knew there was a reason I married you," she said with a giggle, her words slightly muffled into the pillow. "Nida's just as good at this, but I like you better. And Nida doesn't do it for me quite as often as he used to…"

Garen pressed his thumbs in between her shoulder blades. "He doesn't?"

"Nope." A thought suddenly occurred to Leia and she smirked. "I could make a comment about what Nida does these days, but I don't think I will." She could almost sense Garen making a face.

"Please," he said, in the tone of somebody getting mental images they didn't want. "Especially if it has anything to do with my sister." After a moment's silence he added, trying to sound off-hand, "She hasn't been spending the night with him, has she?" Leia could hear the undercurrent in his voice that spelled trouble for Nida if the answer was yes, and was glad that she didn't have to tell an outright lie.

"I don't make it my business to check up on him every night," she said, raising her eyebrows. "But with your dad always going back and forth to Djose or Luca and the rest of you guys being home less than half the time, I wouldn't be surprised if she's been able to come up here without you realizing it. Lucia certainly wouldn't care, and she's the only one who's almost always in Domremy." Garen said nothing, so Leia tactfully changed the subject.

"Is the birthday boy awake yet?"

"Yeah," said Garen, and she could hear the smile in his voice. "Squall and Seifer are too, but-" he broke off and they both listened as a door opened. "I think that's Siri."

Sure enough, the little girl poked her head around the door moments later, and upon seeing Garen she beamed and said "Daddy!", coming over to crawl onto the bed and into his lap.

"Hey there, angel," Garen said, smiling as he ruffled Siri's hair. "Did you know it's Liam's birthday today?"

"Uh-huh," said the toddler. "An' we get brownies, an' cake, an-" Siri's monologue was interrupted by the distant opening of the front door, followed by a familiar male voice.

"That's your Uncle Loran," Garen said, after listening for a moment. He looked down at Siri and said "Why don't you go say hi to him, and we'll be out there in a minute." Siri scrambled down off the bed and ran out of the room, and Leia looked over at Garen.

"She's a daddy's girl, you know," Leia said, and grinned at the half-pleased, half-self conscious expression on Garen's face.

"Go talk to your brother," Leia said eventually, reaching out to poke Garen with her foot. "I still need to shower and get dressed, but I'm sure you guys can handle the kids between the two of you."

Garen let out a snort as he moved to the bedroom door. "That depends. As long as Seifer and Squall don't get into the flour again then yeah, I think we can."

"That was your fault!" Leia called after him, but she was giggling at the memory. After a few moments she composed herself and got out of bed, reaching for her clothes and heading for the bathroom to start her morning.

* * *

An hour or so later, Leia was talking with Sera and Ellimere when somebody knocked on her front door. "I'll get it," Loran said quickly, getting up from his chair. "It's probably Dad and them…" 

Loran was right—into the house came Lucia, Shaylie, Xu, Loric, and Garen's father, Zell. Shaylie was immediately dragged off to play by Siri, Liam, and Jaicen, and the adults were greeting Garen and Loran, but Lucia, Leia noticed, seemed vaguely unhappy.

"What's wrong?" Leia asked her sister-in-law a few minutes later, sitting down next to her on the couch and offering her a brownie.

Lucia accepted the brownie, her gaze unfocused and a disappointed expression on her face. "I had a miscarriage," she muttered eventually, sighing and taking an absent-minded bite out of the brownie. "Last week. I was about six or seven weeks along… I was actually going to tell you all today, but obviously…" she shrugged and sighed again, and Leia felt a pang of sympathy.

"I'm sorry," she said simply, putting an arm around Lucia's shoulders. "Did I ever tell you that I had a miscarriage when I was seventeen, a few months before I got pregnant with Anakin?"

"No, you didn't," Lucia said after a moment, sounding surprised. "When you were seventeen? You must have gotten pregnant as soon as you and Garen got married…"

"Pretty much," Leia said with a nod. "We had the wedding, Garen left for Bevelle about two weeks later, and I found out I was pregnant about a week after that. I miscarried when I was at the five-week mark." She tightened her arm around Lucia. "I've actually had ten pregnancies, you know… and there might have been an eleventh time when I was about twenty-five, and my period was almost two weeks late."

Lucia took another bite out of the brownie. "Really?" she asked quietly.

"Mm-hm. So the moral of the story is, don't get yourself too depressed. You've already got Shaylie, you're obviously quite capable of getting pregnant, and sometimes miscarriages just happen. And you're still young, you're only twenty-nine, so you've got nothing to worry about."

Lucia smiled slightly, a genuine smile. "Thanks," she said softly.

"Don't mention it."

* * *

At 1 in the afternoon, when the birthday party was well underway and Liam had just finished opening his presents, Leia heard another knock on the door. She opened it to find a familiar dark-haired young woman standing there, with her soon-to-be 3 year old son (he was a couple of months younger than Liam) clinging to her leg. 

"Anima!" she exclaimed happily. "It's good to see you!" She bent down and smiled at the little blue-haired boy standing next to his mother. "Hey, Seymour, it's been a while since you've come to visit me." She stretched out her arms to the 2 year old, who smiled and detached himself from Anima, reaching up and allowing Leia to pick him up and settle him against her left side, where he promptly burrowed his head into her shoulder in a fit of shyness upon realizing how many other people were in the room.

"Can you stay long?" she asked. "We've got food-"

"No, I really can't," Anima replied apologetically. "Seymour was sick the other day and I was up most of the night taking care of him, so I need a nap. He can stay for a couple of hours though, if he wants. Oh, and Jyscal wanted to make sure this got to you for Liam's birthday." She handed over a small package wrapped in blue paper, which judging by the size and weight seemed to be a book.

"Thank you," Leia said with a smile, taking the book with her free hand. Bending her head so that she was speaking to Seymour she said "Hey, Seymour, you want to stay here for a while? We're having a party, it'll be fun..." She felt him nod against her shoulder and put him down, and after saying goodbye to Anima she turned around to find that Siri had grabbed him by the hand and was dragging him over to play with her.

Seymour being thus occupied, Leia looked around the room for Liam. "Hey, kiddo," she said, catching him by the back of his shirt collar as he ran by, chasing after Jaicen. "Sit down for a minute. You've got another present from Mommy's cousin."

After throwing the wrapping paper from all the presents away, Leia sat down next to Ellimere and Numair (they were in a relationship now, but had agreed to take it slowly), sipping on a drink as she looked around the room at all of the kids.

"Hey," Ellimere said suddenly, nudging Leia with her shoulder. "Look at Siri." Leia looked—Siri and Seymour were sitting side by side at the table, both coloring pictures, with a pile of crayons between them.

Leia smiled as she watched them. "Yeah, what about her?"

"She and Seymour are both holding their crayons in their left hand. You think she's left-handed?"

"Geez, you're right," said Leia, looking closer. "She might very well be." Leia suddenly chuckled. "Wouldn't that be funny—five out of my seven kids are right-handed, but my oldest and my youngest are both lefties."

Leia spent a few minutes trying to remember all the left-handed people that she knew (Anakin, Nida, Nicolai, Murtagh, and her late mother-in-law were the only ones she could think of for sure), and when she'd exhausted that topic her thoughts drifted to 2 year-old Seymour.

_That poor little boy. He's in that big lonely Manor every day, Jyscal's only home about half the time, and the only friends he has are these kids-and he doesn't even get to see them that often_. Though she didn't mention it very much, Leia couldn't help but worry about Seymour. He was like another one of her kids to her (the same as her niece and Ellimere and Sera's kids), and her maternal instinct to protect her children was even stronger with him. She could sense that the future was going to be difficult for the little heir to the Guado leadership, but also knew there was little she could do to shield him from it. All she could do was hope that he'd be strong enough to overcome the challenges that awaited him.

* * *

**Bikanel Island—Same Day**

Far away from Guadosalam, at the same time as Liam Kenobi's 3rd birthday party was taking place, a teenage Al Bhed girl was giving birth. 16 year-old Kyra had been in labor for almost 24 hours, and as it approached 4 in the afternoon her first child was finally about to be born. With her were a midwife and the midwife's assistant—her 18 year-old brother, parents, husband, and in-laws were waiting for news in the other room.

"Oui'na ymsucd drana... kuut kenm... zicd uha suna bicr huf... (you're almost there… good girl… just one more push now…)" the Midwife was trying to comfort her and calm her down, but Kyra was in too much pain and anxiety to notice or care. She screamed as the next contraction came, and with one last push her baby was delivered.

"Ed'c y puo! (It's a boy!)" the midwife exclaimed, and she and her assistant both broke out in wide smiles. Kyra followed the midwife with her eyes as the woman cut the cord and cleaned her newborn son, her worries and fear of the unknown suddenly replaced by overwhelming joy. For her first child, nothing could be better than a healthy boy—her husband and family would be proud of her, and her status in the community would skyrocket.

"Ra'c banvald (He's perfect)," the midwife said with a smile, placing Kyra's now clean and swaddled son in her arms. "Oui tet jano famm (You did very well)." As the midwife's assistant left the room to tell her family the good news, Kyra beamed as she looked down at her son—with hazel eyes and a short fuzz of pale blond hair, he already resembled his father.

A few minutes later the woman returned, with Kyra's husband right behind her.

"Yna oui ymnekrd? (Are you alright?)" he asked, putting an arm around Kyra's shoulders and kissing the top of her head.

"E's veha (I'm fine)," she said with a small smile. "Zicd denat (Just tired)." She looked down at the tiny bundle in her lap. "Tet oui taleta uh y hysa? (Did you decide on a name?)"

Kyra's husband looked down at their son, and after a moment, he nodded. "Tristan," he said, in a voice filled with pride and a surprising amount of tenderness. "Vun so pnudran (For my brother)."

Kyra nodded. "Ra'mm pa y kuut syh, mega ouin pnudran fyc (He'll be a good man, like your brother was)." She looked down at her son and in a softer voice, said "Ra'mm syga ic bnuit (He'll make us proud).

_You're going to do great things, Tristan_, she thought to herself. _You're my little boy, my little warrior. And you'll live up to your name and your family. _She looked down at Tristan, who blinked back at her, and smiled. _You'll make us all proud, I know you will_.


	4. Chappu and Merric

Sorry about the wait. The next update should be in a month, if not sooner. Just to give you a better idea of them, I'm going to list the ages and heights of the adult characters in this chapter. The first number is their age on Siri's Birthday, and the number in parantheses is their age when Merric is born-if there is no number in parantheses that means they have a late winter, spring, or early summer birthday that didn't occur during the chapter. Height is after the dash.

Leia/Garen: 32- Leia is 5'6", Garen is 6'5"   
Zell: 50 (51)- 6'6"  
Nida: 34- 5'7"   
Xu: 23 (24)- 5'6"  
Karin: 21 (22)- 5'8"   
Lana: 20- 5'4"   
Loran: 28- 6'4"   
Loric: 26- 6'3"   
Nicolai: 30- 6'5"   
Lucia: 29 (30)- 5'8"   
Ellimere: 31- 5'8"   
Numair: 33 (34)- 5'9"   
Sera: 33- 5'5"   
Murtagh: 29- 6'2"

Enjoy the chapter! And make sure to leave me some reviews, please...

* * *

**46th Day of Summer, 978 AS  
Guadosalam**

Leia was in the midst of cooking pancakes for her children's breakfast when her front door opened, and one of the last people she expected to see came in the house.

"Garen!" she exclaimed happily, nearly dropping the spatula in surprise. "What are you doing here so early? I thought you wouldn't be coming until the afternoon."

Garen grinned, paying half attention to her and half to the kids, who had crowded around him as they usually did when he came home. "Zak gave me all of today and tomorrow off," he said. "And I believe it's your birthday today, isn't it, little one?" He was speaking to Siri, who beamed and clapped her hands in delight. Garen chuckled as he picked her up, and crossed the room with her in his arms.

"I've been offered a promotion," Garen said, sitting down on one of the tall stools at the kitchen counter, and putting Siri down on the one next to him.

The boys burst out with questions and exclamations from the table, but Leia ignored them. "You… what… how…" then she suddenly understood, and gasped. "Sub-Commander? They're putting you in charge of the Garrison? But Zak's not old enough to retire…"

"No, he's not," Garen agreed. "The Commander, on the other hand, is. Zak's going to be the new Commander, and he's asked me to take his place as Sub-Commander of Guadosalam. That's why he gave me today and tomorrow off, so I could come home to consider it."

"You should, it'd be cool!" Anakin called out from the table, but Leia waved at him to be quiet.

"Do you want to?" she asked, glancing up at him in-between flipping pancakes.

Garen sighed slightly and leaned forward, placing his elbows on the counter and propping his chin on one hand. "Honestly, yes. I wouldn't be able to come home quite as often, but it's a great opportunity, I get paid more, and…" a small smile came onto his face. "I think Zak would be pretty disappointed if I said no. But I wanted to ask your opinion."

Leia grinned, feeling pleased at Garen's consideration. "Well I think you should, definitely," she said. "You know I'll support whatever you want. And your family would think it was great, especially your Dad…"

"Hm, I didn't think of that, but you're right." Garen's father had been a Warrior Monk himself in his younger days, and for several years had been the Sub-Commander of Djose. "I'll talk about it with Dad and the others when they get here," Garen said. "But I think my mind's pretty much made up. I'll tell Zak that I'll take it when I go back on Tuesday."

"Hey, Dad," Anakin piped up from the table. "Speaking of that, when I join the Warrior Monks, do I have to call you and Uncle Nicolai 'Sir'?" Anakin had been aspiring to follow in Garen's footsteps for years, and in the last several months had talked with his parents and seriously decided that he wanted to be a Warrior Monk when he got older.

"Of course," said Garen, causing Anakin's eyebrows to shoot up and the younger boys to start snickering. "If you get assigned to Guadosalam I'll be your Commanding Officer, and if you get assigned to Djose you may very well be in Nicolai's unit. You don't get any special treatment."

"I know that," said Anakin, looking slightly offended. "I just meant-"

"I know, I know," Garen said understandingly, his expression relaxing. "If we're both on duty and there are other Warrior Monks around then yes, but if we're off-duty or nobody else is around then no, you don't have to." Anakin nodded and went back to his food, just as Nida poked his head around the front door.

"Good morning!" Nida said happily. Then he caught sight of Garen. "Oh, hey, you're early." He grinned at Garen, who lifted a hand in welcome. Nida came inside and knelt down, producing a wrapped present from behind his back, and Siri's eyes lit up. She ran over to Nida, calling his name, and Nida laughed as he scooped her up in his arms.

"Happy birthday, sweetheart." He glanced up at Leia, who was still making pancakes. "Can I help?"

Leia raised her eyebrows with a slight grin and offered her brother the spatula. "Yeah, you can finish it. My feet are starting to hurt." Nida took the spatula and started tending the frying pan, and Leia gratefully sat down at the table and poured herself a drink.

Ellimere arrived with Numair, Ryelle and Raine as Nida was finishing cooking, and Sera and Murtagh showed up with Jess and Jaicen about 5 minutes later. Mid-way through breakfast Jyscal, Anima, and Seymour showed up in one of the rare times that Leia ever saw all 3 of them together these days, and like all the others they came with extra food and presents for Siri—Anima had knitted Siri a sparkly blue and silver sweater, for use later in the year when it began to get cold.

Just as Leia was finishing eating, there was another knock on her door. Seifer tripped over Squall trying to get to the door, Raine beat him there, and pulled it open to reveal Lucia, Xu, Karin (Garen and Xu's sister, a young woman with gold eyes and red-brown hair—she was taking vacation from her job as a Healer at the Luca Hospital), 4-year old Shaylie, and Garen's father, Zell.

In the midst of hugs and greetings, Leia's eyes were drawn to Lucia. The 29-year old had a bounce in her step, a twinkle in her eyes, and looked happier than Leia had seen her in a very long time. _Forget happy_, Leia thought as she looked at her sister-in-law. _She's glowing_. Leia guessed the truth even before Lucia opened her mouth, and when she got everybody's attention and announced she was pregnant, Leia felt a broad grin come on to her face. _I knew it_.

When Leia got close enough she grabbed Lucia's hands in her own, and for a few seconds the two women simply smiled at each other. "How far along?" she asked, casting an appraising gaze at Lucia's midriff, which still looked flat.

"Two and a half months. My due date is the 61st of Winter."

"Does Nicolai know?" Leia asked curiously. Nicolai was Lucia's husband and one of Garen's brothers, and was a Warrior Monk based at Djose.

"Nope." Lucia grinned. "He'll be home tomorrow though, so I'll tell him then. Ooh, are those chocolate chip?" Lucia stepped around Leia and snagged a cookie from the plate on the counter.

Leia took a cookie as well. "How's Shaylie taking it?" she asked, perching herself on one of the tall stools at the kitchen counter.

Lucia shrugged. "She thinks it's cool, but I don't think she understands that pregnant women don't get like this-" Lucia held a hand out in front of her stomach, "right away. I told her I was having another baby and she looks at me and says 'but it couldn't fit in your tummy! If you had a baby in there you'd have a big tummy!" Leia laughed, remembering the times when her older sons had said almost exactly the same thing, and with a happy sigh she settled down to enjoy her daughter's 2nd birthday.

* * *

**32nd Day of Autumn, 978 AS  
Besaid**

In the shade of her home, resting in a camp chair, 20 year-old Arielle was knitting a baby blanket. She was 6 months pregnant with her first child, which was due in mid-winter. Just as she was reaching for a new ball of yarn, somebody poked their head around the open tent flap.

"Hey!" said the cheerful form of Arielle's best friend, Leyla. "What're you up to?" Leyla stepped into the tent. She was a year older than Arielle, with blue eyes and short brown hair, and she was also pregnant, even further along than Arielle was. Leyla already had an 18-month old son named Wakka, and she was a day past her due date with her second baby.

Arielle shrugged and spread her arms wide. "Not much. Is that lunch?" she nodded to the large picnic basket Leyla was holding.

"Yeah. You want to take a walk up to the Temple with me?" Arielle nodded and abandoned her knitting, heaving herself up out of the chair and setting off with Leyla.

"Have you and Yuri narrowed down the name ideas?" Leyla asked curiously, as they strolled in the direction of the Temple.

Arielle nodded as she took a small hair-band out of her pocket, and pulled her long silver hair into a ponytail. "Yeah. Boy names are still completely up in the air, but if it's a girl we've decided either on Paine for my grandmother, or Lulu for his. I don't know which we're going to end up going with, though."

At that moment Arielle heard somebody call her name, and turned around to find her husband jogging up to them. Yuri was 3 years older than her, tall and skinny with jet-black hair and brown eyes; he was also a Crusader, and from the looks of it had just returned from a patrol of the path leading to the beach.

"Hey!" he called out as he approached. "You sure you two should be walking around so much?" Yuri crossed his arms, his look of concern fading into mild annoyance as Arielle giggled and Leyla rolled her eyes.

"We're fine," Leyla said. "We were just going up to the Temple. Have you eaten yet?" She held up the picnic basket and Yuri sighed and uncrossed his arms, conceding defeat.

"No," he admitted. "But let's stay in the shade, alright?" They started walking again, but before they had taken two steps Leyla suddenly gasped and dropped the picnic basket, doubling over and clutching her stomach.

"What's wrong?" Yuri and Arielle exclaimed simultaneously, each grabbing one of Leyla's arms to support her. "Is the baby coming?" Yuri added, looking worried.

Leyla nodded as she caught her breath. "My water just broke." Yuri's eyes went wide.

"Oh, um… alright, Arielle, take her up to the Temple. I'll run down to the beach and get Vidina and Wakka." Vidina was Leyla's husband, and served as goalie for the Aurochs—he had taken Wakka down to the beach with him in order to give Leyla a few hours of peace this morning.

Arielle nodded. Picking up the picnic basket in one hand and putting the other arm under Leyla's shoulders, she and Leyla set off at a slow pace towards the Temple. Two of Arielle's neighbors spotted them and hurried over to help—once Arielle explained the situation one of them took the picnic basket away, and the other ran off to find the midwife.

3 hours later, Arielle was in the middle of a small group sitting together in the main room of the Temple, waiting to hear any news of Leyla or the baby. With Arielle was Yuri, Vidina with Wakka in his lap, Vidina's teenage sister, and Leyla's mother, who was the only surviving grandparent on either side of the family.

At long last, the midwife appeared and beckoned to Vidina to follow her; he went and returned five minutes later, with a small bundle in his arms.

"It's a boy," he said with a grin, showing them all. The new baby had Leyla's fair skin and blue eyes, but also had the same distinctive red-orange hair that his brother and father did.

"Did you decide on the name?" Vidina's sister asked, and he nodded.

"Chappu," he said, with a soft smile. "For mom's brother." He carefully passed baby Chappu to his mother-in-law, and they all took turns in welcoming the newest resident of Besaid to the world.

* * *

**60th Day of Winter, 978 AS  
Domremy**

When Zell woke up at 8 AM in the morning, it was to the familiar and heart-warming sound of a full home—people chattering to each other and calling across the house, the delicious smell of breakfast wafting up from the kitchen below, and footsteps echoing up and down the stairwell. The 51-year old put off getting out of bed for a few moments, simply laying there and enjoying the cheerful atmosphere. His two story, six bedroom house (one of the largest in Domremy) was so often empty these days—his wife had died in a Sin Attack 9 years ago, his sons only came home infrequently, and his daughters spent most of their time at Guadosalam, Luca, Djose Temple, or some combination thereof, meaning that Lucia and Shaylie were usually the only other ones in the house. Today, however, 5 out of his 7 children were home, the others weren't far away, and every bedroom was occupied.

Just as he was about to get up a light set of footsteps came padding quickly up the stairs, and his bedroom door opened to reveal a small, red-haired figure, who promptly jumped up on the bed.

"Wake up, grandpa!" squealed his granddaughter, 5-year old Shaylie. She was bouncing up and down on the quilt next to him, grinning eagerly. "Breakfast is ready! Get up, get up!"

Zell laughed, putting his hands out to get Shaylie to stop bouncing. "I'm up, I'm up," he assured her. "Who made breakfast?"

"Auntie Karin, and Auntie Xu, and Auntie Lana," Shaylie informed him. "Mama wanted to but they said she had to rest, and Uncle Loran wanted to but they said he'd just burn it, and-"

"Alright, alright, I get the picture," Zell said, chuckling as he climbed out of bed. "Why don't you go tell your Aunties that they shouldn't be mean to their brother, and I'll be down in a few minutes." Shaylie promptly jumped down to the floor and ran out of the room.

When Zell came downstairs five minutes later, he found the inhabitants of the house distributed between the kitchen and adjoining dining room—Xu was cooking at the stove, Karin was slicing up fruit at the kitchen counter, Lana was pouring drinks which she handed one by one to Loric, who took them to the table, and Loran was sitting at the table, entertaining Shaylie with a few small toy animals.

"Where's Lucia?" he asked, noting the conspicuous absence of his very pregnant daughter-in-law.

"Bathroom," Karin said promptly. "You know, baby pressing on the bladder and all that…".

"Oh, right." Zell sat down and took a biscuit from the center of the table, and at that moment Lucia appeared, her green eyes glittering brightly and both hands clutching her large, round stomach.

"I'm in labor," she gasped, leaning against the wall, and everybody stopped what they were doing, then all burst into action again at once.

"We'll go get Nicolai," Loran said, and without further ado he and Loric got up and left, pausing only to grab coats and gloves before leaving the house.

"I'll go to Guadosalam, and I'll find Arisa and your sister on the way out of here," said Xu, taking the frying pan off the stove, but before she'd left the kitchen Karin grabbed her by the arm.

"Let me go with you," Karin said. "You shouldn't go by yourself if you don't have to."

"Alright." They started to leave, but with an indignant expression at being left behind Lana followed them.

"Hey, I want to come too!" Lana joined them, and the 3 young women hurried away, leaving Zell alone to comfort Lucia through her contractions, as they waited for the midwife to arrive and for their family to return.

* * *

**Guadosalam-90 Minutes Later**

Nida had just finished brushing his teeth after breakfast, and was thinking about going over to his sister's house for the morning when he heard a knock on his front door.

"It's open!" he called out, and he came into the living room to see his girlfriend standing there, her coat and pink cheeks suggesting that she'd just been outdoors.

"Xu!" he exclaimed happily, crossing the room and hugging her tightly. "What's up? Did you come by yourself?"

Xu shook her head and pulled him closer for a brief kiss. "Karin and Lana are with me," she said after they separated. "But they went to Garen and Leia's. Lucia's having the baby, so we came to bring you guys back with us."

Nida's eyes widened. "Oh! Alright, just a second." He went to get his own coat and gloves, and within a minute was ready to leave.

An hour later, he, Xu, Karin, and Lana had reached the north bank of the Moonflow River, along with Leia, Garen, and their 7 kids. They had to take two trips to all get across the Moonflow—Leia and Garen took the first shoopuf with Lana, Anakin, Laguna, Siri, and Liam, and Xu, Karin, and Nida waited and took the next one with Rowan, Squall, and Seifer.

"Do you think Siri will remember this, when she gets older?" Nida asked curiously, as the shoopuf plodded slowly through the water.

"I doubt it," Xu replied promptly, shaking her head. "She's only two and a half. I _barely_ remember Lana being born, and I was almost four."

"And I definitely don't remember, because I wasn't even two yet," Karin added. "The first person I remember being born is Anakin." Nida, however, wasn't listening—he'd just had to grab Seifer by the scruff of the neck to stop him from falling into the water.

When they disembarked on the south bank, Leia and Garen were nowhere in sight, but Nida wasn't surprised—They would have wanted to get to Domremy as soon as possible. Between them he, Karin, and Xu took the 3 children and made the short walk from the Shoopuf station to Domremy, and when they entered the town Seifer and Squall darted ahead, having been to Domremy so many times they knew exactly where to go.

Nida followed his nephews, and in a few minutes they'd all reached the house. For a moment he thought about knocking, but Xu walked ahead of him and pushed the door right open, the rest of them following her.

The living room was crowded with people—in addition to Leia, Garen, and the rest of their kids, seats were taken by Shaylie, Loran, Loric, Zell, Lucia's older sister, her husband, and 3 of their children.

No sooner than had Nida sat down, when the distinct sound of a baby's cry floated down from upstairs. Everybody in the room let out relieved and happy sighs and smiled at each other, and after about ten minutes Nicolai came slowly down the stairs, carefully cradling a bundle of blankets in his arms.

"It's a boy," he said, his face alight with happiness. Nicolai walked over and sat down next to Shaylie, and with a soft smile said "Say hello to your baby brother."

Nida leaned closer to get a good look. Nicolai's son had his gold eyes, and there were a few curls of red hair poking out from underneath the tiny knitted hat on his head.

"Are you still naming him Merric?" Lucia's sister asked, and Nicolai nodded.

"Definitely. He even _looks_ like your uncle. The red hair certainly doesn't come from me." Lucia's sister chuckled appreciatively, and gently took Merric in her arms when Nicolai offered him to her.

"We want you two to be his godparents," Nicolai added, looking back and forth between Lucia's sister and her husband, who glanced at each other before looking back at him.

"We'd love to," Lucia's sister said with a smile. She passed Merric to Nida, who was seated next to her, and when Nida felt the warm weight of the baby boy in his arms and looked into his gold eyes, he was overcome with a sudden feeling of contentment and… rightness. He _wanted_ this, he wanted to have a family, and he wanted it… with Xu. Nida looked up and caught Xu's eye, and from the expression on her face he could tell she wanted it, too.

_I know you want to be Lana's guardian, and I know it'll have to wait until after her pilgrimage, but someday…someday we'll have children of our own_. He glanced up at Xu again as he passed Merric to Garen, and she smiled at him. _Someday, we'll have a family_.


	5. Orphaned

I know it's been a long time... sorry... Updates may take a while, but I've got a lot of inspiration right now and I even have one of the chapters (maybe chapter 11 or 12? I'm not sure) already written ahead of time, so I'm not going to quit any time soon. This isn't a very happy chapter, unfortunately, but not having some angst and tragedy would be completely unrealistic, especially during a time of Sin. I hope you all appreciate it anyway. Read and Review!

* * *

**31st Day of Spring, 979 AS****  
****Besaid**

Arielle had been napping, catching up on a few minutes of much needed sleep, when she was jerked out of her doze by the soft but unmistakable cry of her 3-month old daughter. The 21-year old got up, eyes still half-shut, and stumbled over to the cradle on the other side of the room, where her daughter gazed up at her with ruby-red eyes that were a copy of Arielle's own, her restless demeanor making it clear that she wanted attention, but wasn't quite ready to start all-out crying for it.

"You really need to start changing your sleeping patterns, Lulu," Arielle sighed, lifting Lulu out of the cradle and smoothing her daughter's fuzz of jet-black hair as she walked over to where she kept the diapers. "You're not a screamer, and that's good, but you're making it very hard for mommy and daddy to have any sleep these days. Or sex, for that matter." Lulu merely made a gurgling noise and started sucking on her fist, completely unaware of what her mother was talking about.

Arielle grinned as she finished changing Lulu's diaper and prepared to feed her. "And it's probably just as well that you're ignoring me, because your daddy is probably going to have a heart attack when you eventually ask about sex anyway, so we should make sure that's not too soon, hm?" Lulu cooed in reply. Once Arielle had finished feeding Lulu she put her back down in the cradle, and was in the process of buttoning her blouse back up when she heard the sounds of commotion from outside her tent and jerked up, her eyes wide in shock. She could have _sworn_ she'd heard somebody say Sin...

"Sin!"  
"Get to the Temple!"

There it was again, too clear to ignore. Arielle swore and grabbed Lulu and her black magic staff, ignoring her half-buttoned blouse, and ducked out of her tent, her heart racing with adrenalin and fear. The Aurochs were down at the beach... and Leyla... and she had Wakka and Chappu with her... and the beach was the absolute worst place to be during a Sin Attack... and she didn't even _know_ where Yuri was... looking towards the entrance to the town, Arielle gasped and nearly dropped Lulu when she saw the huge gray shape of Sin high in the air, albeit still at a distance from the village.

"Arielle! What are you doing?" It was Leyla's mother, who'd come running up to her. Arielle tore her eyes away from Sin and turned to look at the middle-aged woman, who tugged on her arm and said "We need to take shelter! Come on!"

Arielle shook her head and shoved Lulu into the older woman's arms. "Take her and get to the Temple. Go!"

"Where are you going?"

"I'm a black mage, I can help the Crusaders." Even as she spoke, half a dozen men came dashing out of the Crusader's Lodge, heading for the entrance to the village. "If anything gets past the beach and comes up here, we need to stop it from getting to the village. Take Lulu and go! Now!" She waited until Leyla's mother nodded and left with Lulu in her arms, before running after the Crusaders with her staff clutched tightly in her hand.

She caught up to them on the path just outside of the village-nine Crusaders and four villagers (a healer, a retired Warrior Monk, and two other mages). The Crusader Captain instructed one of the mages, the warrior monk and 3 of the Crusaders to guard the entrance to the village and assist the Squad of Warrior Monks that were assigned to the Temple, and gestured for everyone else to follow him, ensuring that Arielle, the other mage, and the healer were in the safest possible position in the middle of the group.

They'd fought a couple of minor battles and were barely half-way to the beach when there was a sudden rustling noise from up ahead, the sounds of a female voice, and Vidina's 16-year old sister Ayla appeared seemingly out of nowhere, with 6-month old Chappu in a carrier on her back and 2-year old Wakka clutched tightly in her arms. Ayla's face and arms had a liberal amount of dirt and scratches, and Wakka looked like had had a bump on the head, but they were otherwise unhurt.

"Oh thank Yevon," Ayla gasped, looking close to tears. "Sin came, and Leyla and Vidina told me to take the boys and run, they were going to stay behind to fight, and there was a fiend coming after us, and I hid because I was too afraid to try and get the rest of the way back to the village in case we were attacked, and I was trying to keep them quiet, and... and..." Ayla trailed off and started to cry, and Arielle went to her side, taking Wakka out of her arms and putting him down before embracing her.

"It's okay, Ayla. You're fine. Look at me." Ayla looked up, making an effort to control her tears, and Arielle forced herself to stay calm as she asked "Where's Yuri? Have you seen him?"

Ayla managed a nod. "He's at the beach too."

_Damn_. Arielle wanted to panic, or get angry, or run to the beach as fast as she could, but instead she took a deep breath and turned to the rest of the group. "Could one of you take them back to the village? I would, but I'm not going back while Yuri's out there." They all nodded in understanding, and the other mage volunteered to serve as an escort for Ayla and the boys.

Even going quickly, it took the rest of them almost 20 more minutes to reach the beach. When they got there it was to find that the battle was over-Sin was retreating, barely visible at the horizon, and dead sinspawn littered the beach, interspersed with the occasional human body. Arielle couldn't immediately spot Leyla, Vidina, or Yuri, and her heart leapt into her throat, her face pale with dread.

"We were lucky," said one of the Crusaders, from behind her. "Sin didn't come to the village." Arielle whirled around and glared at the man, her fear suddenly transformed to rage.

"_Lucky?_" she said incredulously. "Wakka and Chappu might very well be orphans! For all I know my husband might be dead, and you have the _nerve_ to say that we're _lucky?_" Her chest heaving with anger, Arielle turned back around, trying to calm down, and the first thing she saw was Yuri-several yards away, favoring his obviously injured right leg, but able to stand up under his own power. In addition to the leg he had a nasty bruise on one side of his face, but it was clear that neither injury was life-threatening.

"Yuri," Arielle breathed, all of her fear and anger suddenly dissolving, leaving her momentarily stunned. Then her brain clicked over, and she gasped.

"Yuri!" Even as she spoke she was running across the beach, and when she reached Yuri she threw her arms around him and hugged him as tightly as she dared, Ayla and the dead bodies and everything else temporarily forgotten as she laid her head on his shoulder and thanked Yevon that he was still alive and not seriously injured.

"Where's Lulu? Did you see Ayla on the way here?" Yuri asked, as he gently returned her hug. Arielle pulled away and looked at him, starting to feel worried again-she could tell that Yuri was in pain. Not physical pain (though he was undoubtedly suffering from that, too), but emotional pain. Arielle had seen him in this mood before-whenever somebody was killed or something bad happened, Yuri's first reaction would be to distance himself from his emotions, putting on a display of calmness and detachment to avoid having to deal with his grief or anger. From his toneless voice and almost expressionless face, Arielle could tell that something terrible had happened-and the more Yuri withdrew into himself, the worse the outburst would be when it eventually came.

"We ran into Ayla, yeah. She had Wakka and Chappu with her. They're fine, she took them back to the village. I left Lulu with Leyla's mother." At the mention of Leyla's name Arielle saw a flash of grief in Yuri's eyes, and that momentary reaction told her everything she needed to know.

"No... oh Yevon no..." Arielle shook her head, eyes stinging with tears, refusing to believe the truth she'd seen in her husband's eyes. "Not Leyla..." she grabbed Yuri by the shoulders, shaking him slightly, praying that he would tell her it wasn't true. Yuri looked at her for a moment, then away over her shoulder, and with his eyes fixed on a point in the distance he said "she's gone," in a voice that was still dead of emotion, though she felt him tense up as he spoke.

Still in shock and denial, Arielle was surprised by the steadiness of her own voice as she asked "Vidina?"

Yuri swallowed, shuddered, and finally managed to croak "him, too." Arielle stepped away, shaking her head violently, refusing to believe it. Her words from a few minutes previously echoed in her ears-_"Wakka and Chappu might very well be orphans!"_-and she felt tears fill her eyes.

"Where are they?" she asked, her voice shaking with the effort of trying not to have a total breakdown. Yuri pointed towards the docks, and without another word Arielle turned and ran in that direction, barely able to see through her haze of tears. When she got to the docks she found that several bodies had been gathered there-she recognized them all, but only had eyes for two of them.

Leyla and Vidina lay side by side, their eyes wide open and glazed over, covered in the blood from their fatal wounds. Arielle reached out a trembling hand and used two fingertips to close their eyes, and for several seconds she just stood there, the tears trickling down her cheeks, staring at the bodies of the people who had been like a brother and sister to her.

"Arielle?" Yuri had limped up behind her, and his voice broke Arielle out of her trance. She turned around and looked at him, his eyes now clearly betraying his misery, and was suddenly overcome with anger.

"Why?" she snapped, brushing the tears out of her eyes and gesturing behind her. "Why them? They're young, they didn't deserve it!" Yuri said nothing, but simply stepped forward and hugged her, and at that moment Arielle lost the last of her composure. She collapsed against Yuri, kept upright only by his arms around her, her shoulders shaking with wordless sobs. He embraced her tightly, stroking her hair and letting her cry into his shoulder as his own tears began to fall. For a long time they stood there and held each other as they wept, grieving for their two best friends, and for the two little boys who would never know or remember the parents who had loved them.

* * *

**61st Day of Summer, 979 AS****  
****Guadosalam**

It was Jess' 9th birthday. Garen wasn't home, but Leia was at Sera and Murtagh's house with them, Ellimere and Numair, Nida, one of Murtagh's two younger sisters (25 year-old Anastasia, who lived in Luca but was visiting for a while), and all 11 of their kids as well as Seymour, who had been staying at Leia's house for the last two days and would be tonight as well, due to the fact that Jyscal was in Bevelle and Anima had come down with a bad case of the flu and was bed-ridden. Seymour and Siri had become quite close over the last year or so (Raine and Ryelle were too old to be interested in the same toys and games, and Liam and Jaicen always stuck together and didn't want a little sister pestering them, which left Seymour as the most obvious choice for a playmate), and it had been a simple matter to give him the second bed in Siri's room (which had been the only room with a spare bed in the first place, since the boys were already paired up).

Leia had just been watching Siri and Seymour from across the room when her attention was diverted by Murtagh's return from the kitchen, carrying a fresh pitcher of ice water. He set the pitcher down on the coffee table and flopped back down in his chair, legs sprawled out in front of him, and to nobody in particular said "I feel old."

Everybody was amused, but Nida was the first one to say anything. "_You_ feel old?" he asked, laughing. "You just turned thirty!"

"You're not that old," Ellimere added, grinning. "Your oldest kid is only nine. Think about poor Leia; she's got a teenager!"

Leia chuckled. "Don't think about poor me, think about poor Garen's dad," she said. "By the time he was forty he already had 2 grandkids! Of course, I might be a grandmother by the time I'm forty, too..." she trailed off, looking over at her two oldest sons as she considered this possibility, and everyone laughed.

"Okay, okay," Murtagh said, grinning despite himself. "Fine, I'm not that old. Does the fact that I have a few gray hairs give me reason to complain?"

"You've had a few gray hairs since you were 18, and I know because I noticed them on our first date," said Sera, smiling at Murtagh when he looked up at her. "But yes, that you can complain about. I can't imagine ever going gray." Numair, Ellimere, Nida, and Leia all agreed, Leia feeling thankful that her Guado blood protected her from that particular feature of aging. They sat in silence for a moment before there was a knock on the front door and Murtagh got up from his chair, frowning slightly in confusion.

"Who on Spira..." they heard him muttering, as he went to answer it. Murtagh opened the door slightly, said something, then a few seconds later opened it all the way to admit Nicolai, who upon entering the house made a bee-line for Nida, with an unmistakably angry expression on his face.

Nida saw the angry look and jumped out of his seat, his eyes widening, taking a few steps backwards as Nicolai came up to him. He didn't even try to pretend that he wasn't intimidated by his girlfriend's brother, who, although being 4 years younger than him, towered over him by 10 inches (Nida being only 5'7") and was muscular and broad-shouldered where Nida was slender.

"What did I do?" Nida asked nervously, and Leia could tell he was trying to control the impulse to keep backing away.

"What did you _do?_" Nicolai repeated, his voice rising on the last word and catching the attention of some of the children on the other side of the room, who looked over with wide eyes and curious expressions. Nicolai noticed this, and appeared to debate with himself for a second before he sighed and grabbed Nida by the arm, leaning closer and lowering his voice.

"I'll tell you what you _did_ on the way to Domremy," he said, the anger in his voice restrained but still clearly evident. "You need to come with me, _now_." Nida didn't even try to argue-he nodded wordlessly, and without further ado he and Nicolai left the house.

"What was all that about?" Anastasia asked, looking around at the rest of them for an explanation. "Who _was_ that?"

"My brother-in-law," Leia explained. "Nida's girlfriend is one of Garen's sisters, and Nicolai is one of their other brothers."

"So if that was his girlfriend's brother..." Anastasia trailed off as comprehension dawned on her face, followed by surprise. "She must be..."

"Pregnant," Sera finished for her, with a nod. "I can't think of any other reason why Nicolai would burst in here and be mad at Nida like that." Anastasia started giggling, but Numair looked a little worried.

"Do you trust Nicolai not to hurt him?" Numair asked. "I'd be pretty scared, if I was Nida..."

"Nah, Nicolai wouldn't hurt him," Leia said with a grin. "If I know Xu, she probably made him promise not to. Garen, on the other hand..." she deliberately trailed off, and Ellimere and Sera both laughed.

"Then again," Leia continued. "We can't be positive she's pregnant. We shouldn't make assumptions until Nida gets back." The others nodded in agreement, and soon they were all talking about other things, the incident in the back of everybody's minds until Nida returned.

* * *

Outside, Nicolai walked far enough so that the door to the house was out of sight and earshot before he abruptly turned around to face Nida and said "You got Xu pregnant, that's what you did!" Nida's jaw dropped in shock, but before he could say anything Nicolai kept talking. 

"And what's worse is that she had a miscarriage this morning!" Nicolai grabbed Nida by the shoulder and shook him. "Do you have any idea how much it _scared_ me to see the midwife come out of that room with a pile of blood-stained sheets? _Do _you? I thought she was _dying_, Nida!" Nicolai's voice broke at the end of his sentence, and he whirled back around, breathing heavily as he tried to calm himself down.

"Is she okay?" Nida ventured timidly, after pretending not to notice as Nicolai drew a shaking hand across his eyes. Nicolai sighed at the question, his shoulders slumping, but didn't turn around.

"Physically, she'll be fine, but emotionally she's a complete wreck. I haven't seen her that bad since... since our mom died." Nicolai turned back around, and suddenly he was angry again.

"You should feel damn lucky that Garen's not here, because if he was none of us would be able to stop him from kicking your ass to Bevelle and back," Nicolai said. "And as far as I'm concerned you would deserve it. I would be perfectly willing to do it for him-" Nida gulped. "But Xu said she'd never speak to me again if I hurt you. Yevon only knows why she even wants to see you right now, but she begged me to go and get you and I wasn't about to tell her no, in her condition."

By now Nida felt thoroughly guilty and miserable, and it was his turn to have tears in his eyes as he looked down and softly said "I'm sorry", not trusting his voice enough to try and speak any louder. Nicolai looked at him for a long moment, and when he finally spoke in was in a surprisingly gentle tone of voice.

"Let's go," he said, and without another word he turned around and led the way out of Guadosalam, Nida following close behind him.

Nicolai didn't speak again for over two hours, and it wasn't until their Shoopuf was approaching the south bank of the Moonflow that he turned to Nida and got his attention. Nida watched him cautiously, expecting another angry outburst, but Nicolai simply sighed.

"I'm not really that mad at you," he admitted, his eyes focused on a point in the distance over Nida's shoulder. "I was... worried about Xu, more than anything else." Nida nodded in understanding but said nothing, sensing that Nicolai wasn't finished.

"And I can kind of understand," Nicolai added after a moment. "Because..." he sighed again. "I'd be a liar if I said that I hadn't anticipated my marriage vows." Nida's eyes widened at this revelation, and Nicolai glanced at him sharply.

"You say a word to Garen and I'll kill you," he said, and he waited for Nida to nod before he continued.

"But that was _after_ I was already engaged," said Nicolai. "_You_ aren't." Nida knew what was coming next and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could Nicolai leaned forward and fixed Nida with his gaze.

"You can't make her wait forever," Nicolai said. "It's been two years. Garen and Leia were engaged after nine months, and married in a year. And..." he sighed deeply, and a sad look came into his eyes. "I know Xu would want to have her wedding while Lana's still around to enjoy it."

Nida nodded. This had occurred to him too, more than once, and he knew that if Lana completed her training and everything went well, if she didn't quit her pilgrimage, that in a year from now she would very likely be dead, having sacrificed herself to bring the Calm. "I know," he said eventually. "I thought of that. And-" he grinned slightly. "I was actually planning on proposing to her on her birthday this year."

Nicolai looked taken aback, but after a moment he smiled, for the first time all afternoon. "Really?" he asked interestedly. "Have you got a ring?" Nida described it to him, including the fact that it had belonged to his mother, and Nicolai nodded approvingly.

"That's good," he said. "The last wedding I went to was when Lucia's nephew got married, and that was more than two years ago. I'm looking forward to another one." At that moment the Shoopuf stopped moving, and Nicolai didn't talk any more as they disembarked and walked the short distance to Domremy.

When they got to the house Nicolai opened the front door slowly and stuck his head inside-Nida heard Lucia's voice, and a moment later Nicolai stepped inside and gestured for Nida to follow him. Lucia was standing in the kitchen preparing a pot of tea, Merric was fast asleep in his cradle in the living room, and Shaylie and Xu were nowhere in sight.

"Xu's upstairs," said Lucia, casting her eyes to the ceiling. "Lana's with her. Shaylie's at my sister's house." Lucia was perfectly calm and composed, and when she looked at Nida the only thing in her eyes was understanding and sympathy. Nida bowed his head in acknowledgment and followed Nicolai up the stairs-they stopped at the door to Xu's bedroom, and this time Nicolai knocked before poking his head inside. Nida couldn't hear Xu or Lana responding, but a second later Lana came out into the hallway, and Nida was stunned when she hugged him.

"She'll be okay now that you're here," Lana said with a sad smile, then stepped around him and walked away, heading downstairs. Nida glanced at Nicolai, and when Nicolai nodded and opened the door for him he stepped into the bedroom.

Xu was sitting up in bed, wearing a nightgown, her hair disheveled, her face pale and tear-stained and her eyes red and puffy from crying. Seeing the woman he loved in such a miserable state-and knowing that it was at least partly his fault-broke Nida's heart, and tears filled his eyes as he crossed the room and took her in his arms. "I'm sorry, Xu," he whispered, starting to cry himself as Xu burst into tears. "I'm so sorry..." He rubbed circles on her back and whispered soothingly into her ear as she sobbed into his shoulder, her arms tight around his waist.

From the doorway, Nicolai watched them for a moment then turned to go, suddenly feeling like an intruder upon a private moment. He knew only too well what it was like to lose a baby, and he knew that if anybody could help Xu recover, it would be Nida. Nicolai knew that his sister was in good hands now, and it was with a slightly lighter heart that he stepped out into the hallway and shut the door behind him.


	6. Sin Attack

**24th Day of Autumn, 979 AS  
****Guadosalam**

Leia was confused, worried, and a little annoyed. She hadn't seen Anima or Seymour in over a week, nobody seemed to know where they had gone, and since his return from Bevelle she'd gotten the distinct impression that Jyscal was trying to avoid her. It was because of that that she was now headed to the Manor where Jyscal lived, having left her kids at home (Garen wasn't there, but Anakin and Laguna were old enough now that they could look after their younger siblings for short periods of time). She wanted answers, and she was going to make Jyscal give them to her.

Jyscal's primary assistant and second-in-command (a man named Trommel, who was a few years younger than her) tried to tell her that Jyscal was busy and wasn't receiving visitors right now, but Leia interrupted him.

"He is _not_ busy, so don't even try to tell me that," she said, glaring at him. "You go tell him that I need to see him_ now_, and that if he doesn't come down he's going to have a very angry cousin to deal with." Trommel seemed to realize that she meant business, and without a word he turned and swept back up the stairs he'd came from. He returned a few minutes later and beckoned to her, and she followed him into Jyscal's office.

"What's going on, Jyscal?" she demanded, as soon as Trommel had shut the door behind her. "Anima and Seymour have disappeared, and you've been avoiding me. What aren't you telling me?" She crossed her arms, glaring down at Jyscal where he sat, and after a moment Jyscal sighed and slumped slightly in his chair, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else but where he was.

"Look, Leia..."

"Don't you 'Look, Leia' me, Jyscal!" Leia placed her hands on his desk and leaned forward so that she was looking him the eye. "I'm two years older than you. Don't you _dare_ patronize me." She straightened up and crossed her arms again, now thoroughly angry with him. "You owe me an explanation. What did you do?"

Jyscal sighed again, and looked down at his desk. "Anima's... she's not coming back. She couldn't stay here anymore."

Leia frowned at him, caught off guard by this odd explanation. "Why?" Then a thought occurred to her, and her eyes widened. "Did you _divorce_ her? Please tell me you didn't. She was happy with you!"

He shook his head. "No, but... it was for her own good." When he didn't continue talking Leia eventually sat down into the chair on the other side of the desk, looking at him expectantly.

"What do you mean, it was for her own good? And why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't tell you because I knew you'd be upset," Jyscal muttered. "There were... I was getting a lot of complaints, because Anima was human and not a Guado. The staff here-" he waved a hand around him. "Were being polite enough, but a lot of the other Guado have never been happy with my choice of a wife."

"So?" Leia said. "I married a human! So did Sera! Nobody's ever bothered Garen or Murtagh."

"First of all, neither of you are in line for the Guado leadership," Jyscal replied. "Nobody cares about who you marry or the heritage of your children. Second of all, Garen and Murtagh are both men, they're both over 6 feet tall, and Garen's a Warrior Monk. Nobody would dare try to bother them. Anima, on the other hand, wasn't so fortunate."

"So what?" Leia asked, still feeling rather mad at him. "People weren't being nice to her, so you sent her away? Where did she go, anyway? Luca?"

Jyscal shook his head. "She didn't feel comfortable in the city. Her family owns a mansion on an island in the Southern Ocean, south-west of Besaid, and they offered to take her in, her and Seymour."

_The Southern Ocean? But that's so far... _"But that still doesn't answer the question of why you sent her away in the first place," Leia pointed out. "And what's going to happen ten or twenty or however many years from now when you die, and Seymour's not here? Are you going to bring them back eventually? Nida's older than both of us, so you can't count on him still being around when that happens, not to mention it's not fair to shove that responsibility onto his shoulders. And all of my kids are only half-Guado, which apparently isn't acceptable either."

Jyscal sighed, looking more miserable than ever. "I'll bring Seymour back when he gets older, but it's best for Anima's safety if she stays away. There were... threats made against her."

Leia gasped, one hand coming up to cover her mouth as her eyes widened in shock and dismay, her anger at Jyscal fading as she finally understood. "Oh Jyscal... I'm sorry..." she reached across the desk, placing a hand over Jyscal's closed fist. "Who was it?"

She felt his fist tighten underneath her hand. "That's just the thing, I don't know." He started to say more, but was interrupted by the sudden entrance of Trommel, who came bursting into the room, the door banging off the wall behind him.

"Sinspawn, my Lord. Heading this way from the woods." He paused to catch his breath, then said "A group of Warrior Monks just arrived, with the Sinspawn on their heels. We've barred the doors to the Manor, as per procedure."

At the words "barred the doors to the Manor", Leia was struck with a bolt of ice-cold fear and jumped out of her chair, looking from Jyscal to Trommel and back again.

"You can't!" she exclaimed desperately. "My kids are in the house by themselves! You have to let me get home!" _This can't be happening... please tell me this is a nightmare... _

Jyscal looked almost as horror-struck as she felt, but when he spoke in was in a voice of forced calm. "If we opened the doors now the Sinspawn could get inside, you know that. We have to stay where we are."

Leia let out a frustrated noise. "Damn it, Jyscal!" She looked around as if searching for a solution, and when nothing offered itself she impulsively snatched up the nearest object--a small paperweight--and chucked it across the room. The noise of it hitting the wall startled all three of them, and as suddenly as it had come Leia's fury vanished—she collapsed back into her chair, her hands covering her face as she started to cry.

"Those are my kids out there..." she choked out, her shoulders shaking as she wept. Jyscal dismissed Trommel with a jerk of the head, and when they were alone he walked around from behind his desk and knelt down next to Leia, putting an arm around her shoulders as he tried to offer her comfort that they both knew would never come.

* * *

Anakin was afraid, he couldn't deny it to himself, but he knew he had to stay calm or he would scare his siblings. He nodded to the Warrior Monk who had come banging on his front door to spread the alarm, and turned around to face his brothers and baby sister, who were all watching him, all depending on him. 

Anakin fought to keep his voice calm and steady as he said "Do you guys remember how we all practiced what to do if Sin came here?" He received several nods, and gulped. "Well Sin's coming, and the Sinspawn are going to be here soon, so I need you guys to hide in Mom and Dad's room just like we practiced, okay?" Six sets of eyes widened in fear, but they all obeyed as Anakin ushered them down the hallway to his parent's bedroom.

"What are you doing?" Laguna asked, when Anakin didn't immediately follow them into the room. "You need to hide, too!"

But Anakin knew what he had to do. "No I don't. I have to go help them fight the Sinspawn."

"But you'll get hurt!" Rowan said anxiously.

"I don't _want_ you to go!" cried Siri, her eyes welling up with tears.

"You're not old enough!" Laguna exclaimed. "You-" but Anakin stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll be fifteen in two days," he said. "I'm old enough. And Aunt Xu's been teaching me black magic. They're going to need all the help they can get. You're the next oldest, so you have to look after the others." Laguna nodded, accepting that Anakin wasn't going to be dissuaded, and Anakin stepped out into the hallway, poking his head back inside the room.

"Now after I shut the door I want you guys to lock it from the inside, and work together to pull the dresser in front of the door, okay?" he said. "Then all of you go in the bathroom and lock that door, too. And don't come out until you hear somebody knocking on the door, alright? Whatever you do, don't leave the bathroom until me or Mom or somebody comes back to tell you that it's safe. I mean it." He looked around at them all, then stepped out and shut the door. He waited until he heard the click of the lock before he ran back out into the living room, pausing long enough to make sure he had his dagger with him (his father had given him one recently, saying that magic users and archers always carried them as a back-up) before he left the house, allowing his ears to guide him towards the not-so-distant sounds of battle.

* * *

Just outside the entrance to Guadosalam, Garen was in trouble. He could barely swing his sword due to what felt like a dislocated right shoulder, and he was pretty sure he had a few cracked ribs, too. At the moment he was nervously eying an insect-like sinscale, knowing full well that he couldn't kill it in his condition, and was backing away from it when he heard his brother shouting his name.

"Garen!" Loran came running up to him, and was about to use a fire spell on the sinscale when somebody else beat him to it—Anakin. Garen looked up from where the sinscale had been and was shocked to see his son, right hand still out-stretched and left hand holding his dagger, suddenly looking far older than fourteen, and for the first time Garen found himself thinking of Anakin as an equal, as a young man instead of a boy.

Garen had been about to say "What the hell do you think you're doing here?", but the newfound realization of his son's maturity stopped him, and instead he said "Where's your mother? And the the other kids?"

"Mom said she was going to see Uncle Jyscal and I haven't seen her since then, so I'm pretty sure she's still inside the Manor. I told the little kids to lock themselves in your bedroom and block the door with the dresser before I left." Garen let out a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding, relieved that his wife and other children were as safe as they possibly could be in this situation.

"You can't even fight right now, and you're injured too, Uncle Loran," Anakin went on, giving them both a once-over. "You're way too pale, you look like you're about to pass out. You should both come with me to let Uncle Murtagh take care of you, before any more Sinspawn appear." He glanced around nervously, but for the moment, they weren't in immediate danger.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Loran said, looking down at his blood-stained shirt and pants. "I think I've got a few cuts that aren't going to stop bleeding on their own. Garen?"

Garen nodded. "Let's go."

They managed to avoid the fiends on their way through Guadosalam, but when they got to Sera and Murtagh's house the front door was locked. It took several seconds of banging on the door and calling out for Sera to eventually open it, and when she did the first thing Garen saw was that she had blood on her hands. Sera ushered them in without a word and shut the door behind them, and the reason for the blood on her hands became clear—she'd been half-way through bandaging a wound on Nida's lower leg, who was sitting at the kitchen table with the injured leg stretched out in front of him on a chair.

Sera looked them up and down, taking in their condition with a glance, then she nodded and said "Loran, lie down on the couch and I'll get you a blood-replenishing potion. Garen, sit. I'll get to you in a minute." As they both moved to obey, Sera turned to Anakin and asked "What are you doing here? Where's-" but she was interrupted by Murtagh, who came out into the living room and said "She's in a coma," before he even realized that Garen, Loran, and Anakin were there.

"Who's in a coma?" Garen asked, as Murtagh's eyes widened. Murtagh gulped and glanced at Nida (who had gone pale and looked suddenly horror-struck) before answering.

"Xu."

"_What?_"

"Oh _hell_ no..."

Garen and Loran looked at each other, their eyes wide in shock and disbelief, then they both looked at Murtagh.

"She's _here?_"Loran asked, looking like he was either going to faint or be sick, and Murtagh nodded, with the carefully controlled expression of somebody who was upset and trying to hide it.

"I've healed everything I can for now, but-" he was interrupted by Nida.

"Don't say it," Nida said, his voice low and a fierce expression on his face. Murtagh looked at Sera, who sighed and stopped her wrapping of Nida's bandage to put a hand on his shoulder.

"Nida..." but he jerked his shoulder out of her grasp.

"Don't say it!" he repeated, his eyes now shining with tears. "I already lost one fiancée because of Sin. I am _not _going to lose another." His voice broke towards the end of his sentence and he put his head in his hands, looking so utterly miserable and grief-stricken that Anakin had to look away, blinking back the tears that had appeared in his own eyes.

"Fiancée?" said Garen, after a few moments' silence. "Am I missing something here?"

"I proposed to her yesterday," Nida muttered, rubbing his eyes but not looking up. "Early birthday present..." he drew in a deep, shuddering breath and let it out, trying and failing to pretend that he wasn't crying. Sera was biting her lip to keep back tears as she finished wrapping the bandage around Nida's leg, and when Murtagh left the room to get Loran a blood-replenishing potion Anakin cleared his throat to get the adults' attention before speaking.

"I, um... since I'm not injured I thought I'd go check on Ellimere and Rylle and Raine, and go make sure our house is okay and the little kids are still safe..."

"Oh would you, please?" Sera asked, suddenly focusing all her attention on him with a pleading look. "Jess and Jaicen are with them, and I haven't been able to leave the house, obviously... speaking of which, where's your mom?"

"Safe, at the Manor," Anakin assured her, even as a voice in the back of his head reminded him that he couldn't be sure. He pushed away the doubt and turned to his father, silently asking permission. Garen nodded and Anakin turned to leave, making sure that the coast was clear before he stepped out and shut the front door behind him.

* * *

As soon as the door clicked shut, Sera looked up at Garen. "He's really grown up."

Garen sighed, not wanting to think about it on top of everything else that had already happened this morning. "I know, and it scares me. It's one thing for him to decide that he wants to be a Warrior Monk eventually, but to actually see him out there, fighting Sinspawn..." he couldn't find the right words, but Sera seemed to understand.

"You wish he could stay a little boy. You don't want him to grow up and leave home, because you won't be able to protect him anymore." She nodded wisely. "Truth be told I don't want him to grow up either. He's the oldest child for any of us." She managed a small, sad smile. "And it really makes me feel old when I remember that Anakin was the first baby I ever delivered by myself, after finishing my training, and here he is now, a six-foot tall teenager."

At that moment Murtagh came back with Loran's potion, and after finishing Nida's bandage (he still had his head in his hands, but was slowly calming down) Sera washed her hands before coming over to look at Garen.

"Okay, what's wrong with you? I can tell you did something to your right arm... do you feel like you have any broken ribs? You're not bleeding..."

"I think I dislocated the shoulder," Garen said, nodding in agreement to her assessment. "And I'm almost certain I've got a few cracked ribs."

"Hm, okay..." she hesitated for a few seconds before saying "Well, you're going to have to take your armor and your shirt off for me to be able to heal it, but..." she deliberately trailed off, and Garen knew what she was alluding to.

He shook his head in response to her unasked question. "I can't lift this arm high enough to do it myself, it's too stiff," he admitted, trying not to feel too embarrassed at having to ask for help. Sera nodded in understanding, and it was with a healer's brisk and professional manner (which Garen greatly appreciated, but he still couldn't look her in the eye) that she removed his armor and pulled his shirt off for him.

"Ouch," she muttered, sympathy in her eyes as she walked around to look at his back. "What did you do to yourself, Garen? Your shoulder is black and blue..." she cast Scan on him, and after several seconds said "Yep, the shoulder is dislocated and you've got 3 fractured ribs, but none of them are actually broken, thankfully. Hey, Murtagh?" she didn't even look over her shoulder as she called out her husband, who was busy healing Loran on the other side of the room.

"What?" Concentrated on his task, he didn't look up either.

"Can you get me a pain reliever when you're done there?"

"Sure."

For a while the only sound in the room was the soft hum of healing magic, and apart from Nida getting up and limping down the hallway to go sit with Xu nobody moved. Sera popped Garen's shoulder back into position (which felt even more painful than dislocating it in the first place had been, but he managed to limit his reaction to wincing and muttering a few choice words under his breath), healed his ribs, and gave him a potion for the pain as well as a button-down shirt of Murtagh's (which was a little tight across the shoulders but fit otherwise) and a sling to keep his right arm still while his shoulder healed. When she finished she got up and went to the door, putting her ear to it before cautiously opening it and poking her head out.

"I see a couple of dead Sinspawn, and a... a Warrior Monk..." the tone of her voice made it clear that the Warrior Monk in question was dead, and Garen and Loran looked at each other for a moment, then broke the eye contact, Garen bowing his head and Loran closing his eyes. "But I don't hear a thing. Do you think it's over?"

"Somebody will come around and tell us when it is," Loran said, without opening his eyes. "We should stay indoors until then, just in case."

"You know what this means," Garen said suddenly. "Guadosalam doesn't have a Summoner, so Lana's going to have to perform the Sending. It'll be her first time."

"I'm surprised she can," Sera commented. "Are you sure? She's not done with her training yet..."

"Yeah, but she's close enough to being done that she can do the Sending," Garen said. "I asked her recently, out of curiousity. Unless there's a full-fledged Summoner who just happens to be passing through here today, which is unlikely, then Lana's it."

"She's at the Temple, though," Loran pointed out. "It''ll take her a while to get here. They probably sent somebody when the alarm was first raised at the Barracks, so accounting for getting across the Moonflow, probably renting Chocobos to get to the Temple and back to the Moonflow, crossing again, and getting here..." he thought for a moment. "She won't be here until at least five or six o'clock."

"Can I get up now, and go see Xu?" Loran added, finally opening his eyes and looking at Sera. Garen opened his mouth to say "Me too", but before he could there was a knock on the door. It was a Warrior Monk, come to tell them that the danger had passed, but at the sight of Garen and Loran the young man's mouth dropped open before he snapped to attention with a salute.

"Sub-Commander, Captain. Are you alright?"

"We'll be fine," Garen replied, returning the salute. "Can you do me a favor, Lieutenant?"

The Lieutenant saluted again. "Yes, Sir, of course. What do you need?"

"If the danger has passed, go to the Manor—you know where it is, right?" The Lieutenant nodded. "Go there and find my wife. Her name's Leia, she's a Guado. Can you find her and bring her back here?"

"Yes, Sir. Right away, Sir!" The Lieutenant darted away, and soon after he left Anakin returned.

"They're all fine," he said. "Ellimere and Numair have their hands full keeping all four kids calm, but they're okay. I told Laguna and the little kids to stay in your bedroom, because I wasn't sure if-"

"It's over," Garen interrupted him. "We got the word no more than five minutes ago. Go and get them." Anakin blinked in surprise for a few seconds, then nodded and left again. Loran took this opportunity to get up and go join Murtagh and Nida at Xu's bedside, but Garen stayed where he was. He was worried about his sister, but he wanted to wait for Leia to arrive before going to see her condition for himself. Apart from Nicolai, Leia was the only other person (the only other _living_ person, he corrected himself-his mother had been in that small group as well) that he could tell anything to and was completely comfortable at displaying emotions in front of, and he needed her support right now.

He and Sera waited in silence for a few minutes, and the first arrival wasn't Leia or Anakin with the kids, but rather Ellimere and Numair with Ryelle, Raine, Jess, and Jaicen. Jess and Jaicen ran to their mother (and their father, when he came into the room), and Garen was surprised when Raine (who'd been sniffling and had tears in her dark blue eyes) flung herself at him, her small arms going as far around his chest as they could.

"I don't want you to die, Uncle Garen! You're not going to die, are you?"

"Anakin said you hurt yourself," Ryelle added. She was more composed and and been hanging back a little, but at this point she came up behind her sister, an anxious look on her face. "You're going to be okay, right?"

Garen looked back and forth between the two girls as he automatically patted Raine on the back, feeling completely bewildered.

"Of course I'm not going to die," he said. "I just hurt my arm a little. I'll be fine." He looked over Ryelle's head at Ellimere and Numair and raised his eyebrows, silently asking _What are they going on about?_

"Ferus," Numair said quietly, exchanging glances with Ellimere before putting an arm around her. "They didn't want to lose you, too."

"Oh..." Garen's eyes widened in understanding, and his heart filled with sympathy for the young girls in front of him. He tightened his grip around Raine, but seconds later released her as his own children came through the door.

"Daddy!" Siri and Liam were the first to reach him, both of them hugging him around the middle from opposite sides. Squall and Seifer were right behind them, but Rowan and Laguna waited until the younger ones had moved before each of them came forward for their own hug. After the commotion died down Murtagh took Ellimere and Numair aside to tell them about Xu, and the 3 of them had just disappeared down the hallway when Leia finally arrived, the Warrior Monk Lieutenant right behind her.

"Mom!"

"Auntie Leia!"

In spite of the circumstances, Garen couldn't help but smile slightly as he watched Leia do a silent head-count to make sure they were all present, then give each child a once-over for injuries before taking them in her arms and hugging them tightly (though with Anakin and Laguna it was more a case of her being taken into their arms, as they were both taller than her). Garen had gotten up from his chair while she was doing this, and when Leia had finally put Siri down she came up to him, her eyes lingering on the sling his right arm was in.

"Dislocated shoulder," he said, answering her question before he could ask it. "I'll be fine. Are you okay?" Leia nodded, but contradicted herself by starting to cry when he stepped forward and embraced her with his good arm.

"Can you take me to the wounded?" Sera asked suddenly, appearing at the doorway with her Healer's kit. She was addressing the Warrior Monk Lieutenant, and when he looked at Garen for permission Garen nodded.

"Take her with you, and find all the other healers that you can-she knows who they are. Get the wounded taken care of, and tell any Captains who aren't seriously injured to report to me here. If they are, get one of their Lieutenants instead. I want all the dead moved to a central location in the next 2 hours—you can find the Guado Leader at the Manor, ask him where he wants them for the Sending. I want a casualty report as soon as possible, and if there's enough men to spare I want look-outs at both entrances to the town, just in case."

"Yes, Sir. Madam?" Sera joined him, and he waited for her to go first before following her out the door.

After they left, Leia turned to Murtagh. "Where's Nida and Xu?" she asked, and when Murtagh didn't immediately answer she froze, her face pale. "Please don't tell me they're-"

"No! No." Murtagh held his hands out in front of him and shook his head. "Nida will be okay, but he may or may not have a permanent limp in his right leg. Xu's... she's hurt, but she's stable for now. We've done everything we can." _She might not make it_, was what Murtagh was trying to avoid saying in order to not scare the little kids, but Garen, Leia, and Anakin (as well as 12-year old Laguna and 11-year old Ryelle, judging by their expressions) understood.

Leia buried her face in Garen's chest, starting to cry again, and he heard a muffled "Could this day get any worse?"

Preferring not to contemplate how it could, Garen asked "What already happened?" Leia looked up at him and opened her mouth to speak, but seemed to think better of it.

"I'll tell you later," she muttered, shaking her head. "Not here, not now." She sniffed and asked "Can we go see Xu?"

Garen kissed the top of her head. "Of course." He looked around at his children and added "You kids stay here," his tone leaving no room for argument. Sera nodded in agreement, cutting off any protests with a stern look, and with his arm around her Garen guided Leia down the hallway to Sera and Murtagh's spare bedroom.

Nida and Loran looked up as they entered the room, then back at Xu without a word, identical bleak expressions on their faces. Xu was dangerously pale, her breathing shallow and labored, and Garen was thankful that the sheets were pulled up and covered all her wounds-he felt close enough to being sick as it was. Leia put her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest, offering him silent reassurance, and they both tried to comfort each other as they prayed that Xu would make it through.

* * *

Lana arrived at 6:30, accompanied by Lucia and Nicolai as well as an escort of two Warrior Monks. They were quickly informed of Xu's condition, and looked in on her before Garen and Nicolai took Lana to meet Jyscal and prepare for the Sending. Between the Warrior Monks and civilians there were fifteen dead, and another eight (Xu being one of them) that were critically injured and might not make it. This latter fact prompted Lana to tell Jyscal (she'd already said it privately, once she knew about Xu) that she would do everything she could to assist the healers, and that she would stay in Guadosalam until she was no longer needed one way or the other.

The Warrior Monks would be taking their fallen comrades back to the Garrison for a funeral and cremation the next morning (a task that Garen was dreading having to coordinate), and the Guado would be doing the same thing with their dead (only that funeral would take place at the banks of the Moonflow), but to make Lana's job easier they had all been laid out together for the Sending, in the large circular courtyard at the southern entrance to Guadosalam. The entire population of the town had gathered there, the only exceptions being the seriously injured and the healers who were looking after them (which counted out Sera and Murtagh, among others). Even Nida had reluctantly left Xu's bedside, and was standing at the front of the crowd between Leia and Ellimere, with Liam wrapped around his legs. Garen was on Leia's other side, with Siri in his arms, and when Lana nodded to Jyscal and hugged Nicolai he felt Siri stir against him.

"What's she doing, Daddy?" Siri asked, as Jyscal and Nicolai stepped back and blended into the crowd, leaving Lana alone in front of the row of bodies.

"She's performing the Sending, Siri," he replied, trying to think of a way to explain it in terms that a 3-year old would understand. "All those people died today, and she has to make sure that their souls get to the Farplane, where they're supposed to be."

"Oh, okay." Being that she lived in Guadosalam and was half-Guado herself, Siri already understood the concept of the Farplane, and Garen's explanation seemed to satisfy her. She laid her head down on his shoulder as the Sending began, watching with wide-eyed fascination as Lana started to dance and pyreflies filled the air.

Garen was watching the Sending, but his thoughts were in turmoil, each one more unpleasant than the last. _Lana's doing the Sending... she's almost done training... she's going to die... eight of my men are dead... what if Xu doesn't make it? Nida's going to fall apart... no, he is **not** going to commit suicide, don't even **think** about that... _

But above everything else, overwhelming all his other emotions, was anger. The anger that every person on Spira had, the anger that Garen had carried within him since the age of five, when his aunt and uncle had been killed, the anger that had led him to become a Warrior Monk. The anger at Sin. This was one Sending too many. As much as Garen wanted to protect his baby sister, as reluctant as he had been to give her his blessing when she had started her Summoner training, he could understand only too well her desire for vengeance—not just for their mother, or the others they'd lost over the years, but for everybody in Spira who had been killed by Sin. Garen knew in his heart that Lana was determined to go through with her pilgrimage, and he knew he couldn't be selfish. If she could do it, if there was even the slightest chance that she could defeat Sin and end the cycle of death and suffering, then he knew he would do anything he could to help her along the way.


	7. Farplane Dream

**28th Day of Autumn, 979 AS  
****Guadosalam**

_When Xu opened her eyes and found herself in a beautiful flower field, with pyreflies drifting through the air, she panicked. **Oh no. I'm dead, aren't I? I can't be dead! Please don't let me be dead... **She was starting to cry when she heard a voice from behind her._

"_It's okay, sweetheart. You're not dead." Xu spun around, and gasped in shock when she recognized her mother. Shaylie had died almost 10 years earlier, and although she had been 42 years old at the time of her death Xu thought she looked younger now, perhaps in her mid 30's. Xu and Karin both took after their father's side of the family, but if it weren't for the subtle differences Xu might have mistaken her mother for an older version of Lana, so strong was was the resemblance._

"_Mom?" she asked uncertainly. "But you're dead—the pyreflies—isn't this the Farplane?"_

_Shaylie nodded, walking closer. "In a way, yes, it is. But you're only dreaming. You're not dead, not yet."_

_Far from reassuring Xu, her mother's words only made her feel worse. "But I'm close to it, aren't I," she muttered, looking down at her feet with her eyes full of tears. "I'm dying." She felt Shaylie's hands on her shoulders, and lost the last of her composure._

"_Oh Xu... it's okay, sweetie..." Shaylie drew Xu into her arms as she started sobbing, holding her tight and smoothing the back of her hair with one hand as she had so many times in Xu's childhood._

_Eventually, when Xu's sobs had subsided to silent weeping, her mother spoke. "You're not going to die, Xu. Look at me." Xu looked up, wiping her eyes, and saw a gentle-but-firm expression on her mother's face._

"_Don't give up on yourself, Xu. You're not dying, you hear me?" She said it with such certainty that Xu felt her heart lift, if only a little. "You are **not** going to die. I certainly won't let you."_

"_Neither will I," came another voice. Xu jumped in surprise and looked around, searching for the owner of the voice, and when she found it she gasped in shock for the second time. In her early 20's, the young woman was beautiful, with long auburn hair and bright green eyes. It was Kaylie, Nida's former fiancée—she had been killed in a Sin Attack 11 years ago, barely a month after their engagement. _

"_Nida needs you," Kaylie continued, before Xu could do anything beyond stare, feeling completely lost for words. "I've been watching, and he's barely left your bedside. He's devastated." Xu could see the love in her eyes as she spoke of Nida, and the sadness at the thought of him being in pain, and instead of feeling jealous she felt a sudden, inexplicable kinship with the woman who had been Nida's first love, who still loved him just as much as Xu herself did. _

"_He used to be so depressed, after I died... even after a couple of years had passed, it was like... he was a shell of who he used to be." Sadness was now dominant in Kaylie's expression. "I hated myself for dying and leaving him to suffer like that. But then he found you, and he finally started to enjoy life again." She smiled slightly. "You brought him out of his depression when nobody else could."_

_Xu was stunned speechless. She had met Kaylie only a few times before her death and had never actually had a conversation with her, and she couldn't believe that Kaylie seemed to approve of her, and was talking to her without a hint of jealousy or resentment. Something of her thoughts must have shown on her face, because Kaylie gave her an understanding look and came close enough to reach out and put a hand on her shoulder._

"_Anybody who makes Nida happy is a friend of mine," she said, looking right into Xu's eyes. "I love him and I'd much rather he be happy for the rest of his life than miserable. And you're a good person. I approved of you from the beginning." She smiled a little and added "And you can tell him I said that, too."_

_Xu felt her eyes fill with tears, unable to believe that she was actually getting Kaylie's blessing. "I... thank you," she whispered eventually, looking down as she brushed the tears away. "You have no idea how much that means to me." _

_Kaylie smiled. "You're welcome. Just promise you'll take good care of him." Xu nodded mutely, managing a small smile of her own, and Kaylie turned and walked away, disappearing into the mist. Xu turned to her mother, who also smiled at her._

"_It's time for me to go, and for you to wake up," Shaylie said. "Tell your father and the kids that I love them?" Xu nodded. "And the grandkids, too," Shaylie added. "And tell Lana that I couldn't be more proud of her." Xu nodded again, and they hugged each other one last time before Shaylie stepped backwards and faded from sight. _

Before she even opened her eyes, the first thing Xu became aware of was the pain. Her entire body seemed to hurt. And when she did open her eyes, she immediately regretted it as a bolt of pain shot through her head. She groaned and shut them again, and as she did so she felt someone grab her hand.

"Xu?" She opened her eyes again, blinking as she got used to the level of light in the room, and Lana's face came into focus, gold eyes looking down at her with a tentatively hopeful look, as though not quite able to believe that Xu was awake.

Xu managed a weak smile and a "Hi". Her voice was hoarse and very soft, but Lana's face still lit up as her shoulders sagged in relief. She looked down and put her hands over her face, and Xu heard her muttering "You're awake, oh thank Yevon you're awake..." When Lana looked up there were tears in her eyes, but at the same time she was beaming.

"Take these," Lana said suddenly, diving down to the floor and coming back up with two potion bottles. "This is a blood-replenishing potion, and this one's a pain reliever. Drink them both." Xu did as she was told, and when she'd finished she asked "What happened? When did you get here?"

"You remember that there was a Sin Attack, right?" Xu nodded. "I came to do the Sending, and since then I've been helping Murtagh and Sera watch over you. We've been taking shifts so that one of us is always here."

Xu frowned slightly as she processed this information. "You make it sound like I've been unconscious for a long time. What time—what day is it?"

"It's the 28th," Lana replied. "A little after 7 in the morning. You were in a coma for almost 4 days. Happy Birthday, by the way, seeing as you slept through it." She smiled and added "Congratulations on getting engaged, too."

The mention of her engagement suddenly reminded Xu of Nida, and she opened her mouth to ask where he was when Lana stopped her with a raised hand.

"Nida's asleep," she said. "He's barely been sleeping at all, but we persuaded him to go to bed at about one o'clock this morning, said we'd wake him up if anything changed. Speaking of which, I should go get him." She rose and went to the door, but Xu stopped her and asked her to wait.

"While I was... unconscious, Mom spoke to me," she said, and watched as Lana's eyes grew wide. "I think I was on the Farplane, but she said I was only dreaming."

Lana nodded slowly. "What did she say?"

Xu smiled slightly. "She said to tell Dad and the 6 of you and all the grandkids that she loved you, and she said to tell you specifically that she couldn't be more proud of you."

The tears returned to Lana's eyes as a small smile came onto on her face, and Xu heard a distinct sniff as she turned and left the room. After a few minutes she heard the soft noise of a door opening that signaled Lana's return, and she shifted so that she was in more of a sitting position just as Nida came into the room.

For a few moments Nida simply stared at her, with the same not-quite-able-to-believe-it expression that Lana had had a few minutes earlier. After ten seconds of this Xu eventually sighed and offered him a small smile as she said "I'm not going to disappear, you know. You can come here," and her voice seemed to break Nida out of his trance—he took two steps forward and dropped into the chair at her bedside, putting his head in his hands as he let out a noise somewhere between a deep sigh and a stifled sob.

"I thought you were going to die, I was so scared..." he muttered, speaking to his knees. Xu almost felt like crying herself at the sight of Nida's distress, and she reached over and grabbed one of his arms, pulling it away from his head as she waited for him to look at her.

"I'm okay," she said, taking his hand in both of hers. "I'm not going to die. It's alright now. Come here." She pulled him closer, and leaned forward until she could touch her lips to his. It was only a brief, chaste kiss—Nida was holding himself back, probably afraid of hurting her—but it had the desired effect. He had a small smile on his face when they separated, and had finally stopped looking like he was afraid to believe this was really happening.

"I guess this throws a wrench in the wedding plans, doesn't it?" Xu asked, her head cocked to one side as she looked at him. She had been aiming to lighten up the situation, and was rewarded when Nida gave her a quizzical look before he started chuckling, which soon turned into actual laughter as he released all of his pent-up stress and anxiety.

"You said that just to make me laugh, didn't you?" Nida asked, when he had calmed down. He was grinning, and Xu grinned too as she nodded.

"I figured you could use a little amusement. Seriously though-" her face resumed its normal expression. "I'm not going to be up and about for a Wedding any time soon, and we would have to rush to have it before the weather started getting cold. I think we're going to have to put it off until next year."

Nida nodded as he considered this. "You're probably right. Lana's not going to be done with her training until late Spring or early Summer, right?" Xu nodded. "So we could always have it then, either before you guys leave or maybe when you're half-way done, after you've gone to Kilika and Besaid and you're on your way back through here, you could take a break for a few days."

"That's a good idea," Xu said slowly, smiling as she contemplated it. "It would be a good excuse to take a break, I'm sure we would need one by then. I'll talk to Lana about it." They sat in companionable silence for a few moments before Xu remembered what else she wanted to tell him.

"Hey, Nida?" He looked at her curiously."While I was unconscious, I had this dream... well, it was kind of like a dream, I think it actually happened, but anyway... I was on the Farplane, and my Mom appeared and talked to me, and then..." she took a deep breath, watching his face carefully. "Kaylie appeared, too."

Nida suddenly froze, and his eyes went more wide and round than Xu had ever seen them go. "Did... did she talk to you, too?" he asked eventually, after recovering from his surprise. Xu nodded, seeing on his face a conflict between wanting to know what had been said, and apprehension that it had been something bad.

"It wasn't anything bad," she assured him. "Quite the opposite, actually... I was speechless almost the entire time, I was completely shocked..." a small smile came onto her face. "She gave us her blessing."

Nida blinked in surprise, his eyes widening again. "She—she did?" Xu nodded, and although Nida's brief smile was genuine, his eyes had the familiar bitter-sweet, far away look that she'd grown accustomed to seeing when he was thinking about Kaylie.

"She told me that anyone who made you happy was a friend of hers," Xu continued, watching Nida's face carefully. "She said that she had approved of me from the beginning, and that... that she loved you and she'd much rather you be happy for the rest of your life than miserable."

Nida smiled, even as his eyes filled with tears. "I... she... that's wonderful," he said, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. "I'll have to go to the Farplane and visit her soon."

"You can go now, if you want," Xu suggested. She nodded in the direction of the bedroom door and said "I just heard someone come in the front door, so I'm sure somebody can come in here to keep an eye on me." Sure enough, Ellimere's voice could now be heard from the living room, accompanied by Lana's as they carried on a quiet conversation.

"Go on," she said when Nida hesitated, looking reluctant to leave her. "I'm sure Sera's going to be awake soon, and Lana's out there too. I'll be fine for a little while." Nida finally nodded, and after another kiss he smoothed the hair back from her forehead with a small smile, promised he'd be back soon, and left the room.

After he left Xu fell back onto her pillow, letting out a long breath that was part relief, part exhaustion, and part fear—fear that they wouldn't be so lucky next time. She was alive, and nobody in her circle of family and friends had been killed, but she knew that the next time Sin came here, or to Domremy, or even Luca, that there was a very real possibility she would lose somebody close to her. It was a fact of life, but that didn't make it any less scary, nor did it make the loss any easier to bear. All she could do was pray, and hope that one day a Calm would come that would last forever.

* * *

(If only she knew that she only had 21 more years to wait... but even if she did, I plead the 5th on the question of whether she'll still be alive by then. If you've read "A Mentor, a Brother, and a Lover," you'll know which characters are going to be safe for a long while yet, but unfortunately I'm going to be killing off a fair number of people between now and when that story picks up the timeline. That doesn't mean that people who are't mentioned in the other story-like Xu-are definitely going to die, but a lot of them will. And if you haven't read the other story and are wondering how Siri could possibly be Shinra's mother, just hang in there. There is an explanation, but it will be a while before we get to that point. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter!) 


End file.
